Nothing Is In Stone
by writing-at-random
Summary: Sequel to Nothing Like the Legend: Arthur and Merlin get thrown two thousand years into the future to come face to face with Jen once again. When Merlin finds himself without his powers, how does Mason get stuck in the middle of all this hocus pocus?
1. Sorcerer LookAlike

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! This is (obviously) the first chapter to my sequel! I hope that this pleases you, and surprises you just a bit! And if some of you don't understand Uther's behavior, I was just trying to make him kind of cool. **

**Alright, so I also hope that all of you who have Syfy channel know that Merlin season 2 is now showing!!! I couldn't believe it! I hope that they will show season 3 also or else it's back to youtube with me. They just showed the first episode of season 2 last night and I was thanking Syfy about a million times! Just thought you guys should know that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin **_**still**_**, but I do own a laptop to write about him!**

Today had been just another day that I had to go through. Things quieted down for me. For one, I wasn't being attacked by druids, dragons, or helping keep Merlin's magic a secret. Now, I'm being attacked by essays, teachers, and helping keep Sarah's boyfriend a secret from her parents. All the things that I went through really felt like a dream now. I know that it really happened and all, but to me it just doesn't feel that way anymore.

I was missing Arthur terribly, and I know that I need to move on and I try! People _have_ asked me out since my return to the twenty-first century, but saying 'yes' just doesn't feel right.

"Jen, do you want to go on a date… with me?" Sam had asked me one day after my math class, twiddling his thumbs. Sam was tall and lanky. His hair was so blonde it was almost white. He had his glasses on which made his eyes look three times as big as they were. I looked down at the ground, wondering how I could answer him.

In some sense I knew that I should accept his offer. I needed to move on from Arthur because I was never going to see him again and he didn't remember me. For some reason I felt that I was betraying Arthur if I was to say 'yes,' though I don't know why exactly. That's when my annoying voice came back to me. "Don't you dare accept Sam's date! You know that you don't even want to, so why go on a date with him! What about Arthur? What would Merlin say if he saw you accepting?"

That was one of the rare times I chose to listen to that voice.

"I'm sorry, Sam." I said with a faint smile. "But I'm seeing someone." The lie came so easily that it almost scared me. Perhaps my time in Camelot did teach me a thing or two. He lowered his head and nodded. I saw that there was some disappointment in his face, and I began to regret what I had said to him.

"It's fine. I'm not surprised that you are. See you later, Jen." With that, he walked off.

I came back to reality. I looked over at Sarah's empty bed. She was out of state visiting her parents for two weeks. I had asked her why she was going to be gone so long, but that's when she reminded me that it was Spring Break.

Now, I was alone in my dorm. There was an eerie silence to the room that sent shivers down my spine. Normally Sarah would be brushing her hair, babbling on about how unfair her teachers were to her today, but tonight, there is nothing but the wind rattling the windows.

I placed my head down on my pillow and snuggled up under my sheets, falling into a deep sleep.

_Back at Camelot…_

Merlin was polishing Arthur's boots as the prince was sitting at the table eating breakfast. It was quiet, too quiet for the warlock's liking. Arthur had been acting not like himself ever since he had that dream two months ago. He had been asking questions day after day about this mysterious girl who he keeps dreaming about.

"Why does she seem so real to me, Merlin?" Arthur finally spoke. Merlin stopped applying the polish and looked up.

"Perhaps because you want what you can't have." He offered and continued with his chore. Arthur put down his fork and walked over to stand above his servant that was leaning against his bed. "What? Do you want me to wash your royal socks, too?" he teased earning himself a slap on the head.

"Yes, in fact you should wash my socks, but stop changing the subject!" the prince ordered. Merlin shrugged. "It seems to me that you know who she is and you also have a secret that you're not telling me about." He scolded. Merlin's heart stopped beating for a split second. "I feel as if I recognize her from somewhere, like I've seen her before."

Merlin looked up at the prince. "Arthur, should I be concerned for you?"

"Don't be an idiot, Merlin! I know that you're keeping something from me." Arthur put his hands on his hips.

Merlin gasped playfully. "I am an open book."

"Yeah, that's what you want me to think." He began pacing his room, trying to remember his dream perfectly. "Merlin, I know that you aren't telling me _something_, and it's killing me!"

"Well, why do you care if I have a secret? I mean, I'm just a servant." Merlin said quickly.

Arthur couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You're my friend, too, Merlin. Besides, I'm the prince, so don't make me order you to…" he paused, getting the sense of déjà vu. "To tell me," he finished.

"What is it?" Merlin asked seeing the look of confusion on the prince's face.

"I feel as if I have said that before, to someone I know, to whom I care about." He crossed his arms, looking at the floor as if it was going to provide him with the answers that he needed. Merlin put the shoe down and began walking towards the door. "Just where do you think you're going?" he asked before the manservant could grasp the handle.

Merlin looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to get Gaius." He said, talking as if it was an ordinary thing.

"Why would you be going to Gaius?"

The warlock shrugged. "You've obviously gone mad…sire."

"_Merlin_," Arthur exclaimed.

Merlin nodded, putting his hand on his chest. "Yes, I'm Merlin, and you're Arthur!" he said slowly, like talking to a five year old. Arthur unfolded his arms and stared at Merlin with totally annoyance. The manservant walked over to him and put his hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Come on, sire. It's alright, just sit down on this bed here-"

"_**Merlin!"**_ the prince yelled. "I'm not going mad and I'm not dumb. You're a horrible liar and it's palpable that there is something that you are keeping from me." Merlin bit his lower lip. "Whatever it is it can't be that bad. You know that you can tell me?"

"Yeah, I know." Merlin lowered his head. The clock chimed and Merlin knew that this was his chance to escape the conversation and he must take it. "Well, it looks like it's time for you to go train your knights. Don't want to be late for that do you?" Merlin said wanting to go already.

"Right," Arthur said slowly. Merlin quickly dressed the prince in his armor, not wanting to get the conversation going again. Once finished, Arthur let himself get pushed out the door. They both walked down the narrow hallway that led down to the courtyard. As they passed an empty room that had previously belonged to Jen, Arthur stopped in mid step. "Who's staying in here?" he asked pointing to the door.

Merlin walked back to where Arthur was standing. "No one," he said simply. "Come on, we're going to be late." He said trying to push the prince along.

"No, wait a second." Merlin stopped and turned back around. Arthur opened the door and stepped inside. Merlin groaned and went in as well. Arthur went over to the bed and placed one hand on it. He walked over to the wardrobe and opened the wooden doors. Inside there were many dresses, but folded neatly at the bottom was a pair of brown pants. He could picture someone wearing them, but he couldn't put a name to the face because he could barely make out the face itself!

"Arthur, how long are we going to doddle in an empty room?" Merlin complained.

"But it wasn't always empty." Arthur stated to no one in particular.

"Of course not, Camelot does have guests you know." Merlin reminded him with a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "Arthur, can we please get a move on before Uther puts me in the stocks for keeping you from training?!" Merlin pleaded. "I have never been able to look at a vegetable the same way again!"

Arthur looked at his servant and nodded. "You're right, which is strange, but true." They headed out again only to run into a guard.

"Prince Arthur, the king requires your presents immediately." The guard bowed and headed off.

Both boys rolled their eyes and walked down to the great hall. Two guards opened the doors to show Uther sitting at his chair thinking hard about something. The Lady Morgana was looking off into the distance with a tired look in her eyes. When they came in both pairs of eyes fell on them.

"My son," Uther stood up and walked over to Arthur. "You need to get your men ready. There is someone or something attacking the outlying villages. It is believed that magic is involved." He informed the prince. "And I want you to inform that girl who is your servant's relative. She seems to be a good ally in the fight against magic." Uther concluded.

Arthur's eyes widened. "What?"

Uther closed his eyes. "I know that I don't approve of your relationship with her, but she seems to be an asset to this kingdom. Every ally is. She has helped rid this kingdom of the druids and that is a true sign that she is loyal to Camelot. Although, I must say I haven't seen her around…"

Arthur's mouth opened and closed without any sound coming out. "Girl… asset… who…?"

Merlin was about to say something when Morgana spoke up. "Ever since you spoke your disapproval of them being together, they broke up. Arthur is trying to forget about her. It would be best if she wasn't involved, My Lord." She lied, eyeing Merlin, trying to tell him something. "Isn't that right, Merlin?"

The king looked at his son's servant. "Yes, that is right, sire."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry about that, Arthur, I really am, but you must learn who is and is not right for you." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, go get your men ready. I want you out of Camelot in half an hour. I want this magical threat destroyed."

"Y-yes, sire." Arthur bowed and headed out.

"Merlin," a voiced called. Merlin turned to see Morgana following them. The guards shut the doors behind them so that Uther couldn't see what was happening. The ward looked at her adoptive brother. "Can we have a moment?" It wasn't a question, it was an order.

"Of course," Arthur walked away. "Merlin, I'll be in the courtyard." He called over his shoulder.

"What's wrong, My Lady?" he asked Morgana.

She took in a deep breath. "I know who Jen is. She comes from the future, and somehow Arthur doesn't remember her at all, but that's all I know." Morgana said quietly in that confident voice that always made Merlin admire her. "I know that you know that she is from a different time, so there is no sense in trying to protect her."

"How do you know about Jen?" he whispered.

She tilted her head. "Merlin, I think we both know how. I had a dream of her coming; I just didn't want to say anything to anyone just in case I was mistaken, just in case it was only a dream." The ward explained. "Don't worry. I won't mention anything to Uther. For all we know she may come back." Morgana smiled. "I do miss her. She changed Arthur in ways others couldn't do. Jen was a good person, a good friend."

Merlin smiled back at her. "Yeah, she is." The two of them stared at each other for a few moments and a thought crossed the warlock's mind. Jen had said that she knew who Arthur was going to marry, and he assumed that Lancelot had something to do with that because of her obvious hatred for him. But who was he going to marry? Surely he would find someone… right?

_Back to the Future…_

I woke up the next morning. Luckily it was a Saturday and Spring Break, so I didn't need to panic about getting up late. I shrugged out of my bed and into my clothes; a baggy shirt and my favorite pair of sweats. There was a knock on my door as I got done putting a brush through my tangled hair. I got up and turned the handle.

There, standing at my door, was…Merlin!

I smiled so wide that it almost hurt. The sight of Merlin was so relieving that it made me feel truly happy. He seemed a bit confused but smiled back. My whole body was uplifted by his friendly presents that it was as if someone had offered me an unlimited supply of chocolate. I opened the door wider.

"Merlin, hey!" I greeted my old friend.

The man in front of me squinted his eyes, a bit confused. "I'm sorry, my name is Mason." He said. I replayed what he had said in my head and I noticed something different about _how _he said it. He… didn't… have… his accent…

I looked closer at this Mason. He had black hair, but it was a bit longer than Merlin's had been and slightly lighter. He was bulkier than the lanky boy I once knew. His ears didn't stick out as much, but then again, they were covered by his hair. He was still tall, but his eyes were so different. They weren't the usual blue orbs that I loved to stare into. These alien eyes were light green with a tint of grey that didn't have the magic in them that made him look like Merlin. The way he dressed was different, too. For one, there was no red neckerchief around his neck.

I shut my eyes and put my hand up to rub my temple. "Right, sorry. What brings you here?" I said feeling like an idiot.

"Well, you see I'm new to the Mythology class and Warren said that you were the one to talk to about our current subject. I'm really behind, and I need to catch up." He had his books in his hand. "Do you think we could get started? I don't know anything about this King Arthur stuff."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Sure, of course we can. Come on in." I said stepping aside for Mason to come in. He walked in and sat his books down on my table with a slam.

"So, do you do any sport?" he asked, obviously not wanting to start immediately.

I shook my head uncomfortably. "No, I'm more brains than brawn." I teased. "Do you?"

"Yep, I do fencing. I made the state finals." He bragged. I had to try not to laugh. This man who looked like Merlin could sword fight, which was something Merlin couldn't do. It was hard for me to imagine Merlin being state final material when it came to swords. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Why don't we start on the homework?" I asked with hope in my voice. Mason rolled his eyes and sat down at the table. I pulled up another chair and sat beside him, opening the book. Of course, the page that I just _had_ to open up to was a picture of the old wizard Merlin who was dressed in blue robes and a pointy hat; the classic Merlin that I have grown to want to correct every time I see that picture. The only thing on Merlin that's blue is his tunic! Gosh, the publisher needs to get it right!

"That's that one wizard guy." Mason pointed out. "What's his name? Merlin?" I nodded sheepishly. "That guy's such a joke! There's no such thing as magic and there never was." Mason scoffed. I bit down on my lip as hard as I could so that a flood of swears and curses wouldn't flow out at this Merlin look-a-like. He continued to stare at the page, reading the caption below the colorful picture. I turned my head away from the book as he turned the page. There, standing proudly on a huge rock, was King Arthur with Excalibur in his hand. Mason chuckled at the pose he was taking. "Wow, can he get anymore conceded?"

I bit my lip harder.

"Yeah, he can be such a prat sometimes." I smiled to myself.

Mason looked at me with a strange look. "What's a prat?" I shook my head, waving off his question. He rolled his eyes, and from the corner of my eye I could have sworn I saw him mouth a 'wow.' I was wrong. This man is _nothing_ like Merlin. He seems more pigheaded. Perhaps I'm being ridiculous, seeing as I don't even know this guy, but still. He looks almost exactly like him at first glance! "What do you know about this Guinevere chick?" he asked, snapping me out of my mental conversation with myself.

I looked over at the book to see a picture of a girl who looked nothing like Gwen. She had on a yellow, flowing dress and had glistening black hair running down her back. She looked more like Morgana if you ask me. There was a golden crown placed gently on her curls. Her brown eyes were staring attentively at me, staring deep into my soul. I looked away. In the background was Arthur (who looked nothing like my Arthur, mind you) smiling proudly at his wife who was secretly betraying him with his best friend and knight, Lancelot.

"Gwen is the wife of Arthur." I started, ignoring the formalities that I'm supposed to use when talking about the prince… er, I mean king. "She falls in love with Lancelot."

"Who is…?" Mason asked.

"Lancelot is a knight of Camelot that is also Prin- King Arthur's best friend… other than Merlin." I added quickly, remembering Merlin and Arthur's friendship so clearly in my mind. "Anyway, Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot and they have an affair behind Arthur's back." I smiled. "Although, I don't know why she would. Arthur's such a great guy and Lancelot is so…" I couldn't find a word to describe him. I hadn't spent much time with the man, but I knew I didn't like him no matter how good looking he is… or was. "Arthur was a great person. He always did what he thought was right and almost always put his people in front of his own needs. He loved to tease people. Arthur and Merlin loved to banter, despite status." I giggled at the very memory. Mason was smiling. "What?" I asked, blushing.

He shook his head. "It's just that you talk as if you've met all three of those guys. You must really love to read this stuff. You seem to get into their heads, like you _know_ them." He concluded. My already red cheeks reached the point of an unmistakable crimson glow. He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry," he laughed. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, though I have no idea how I did embarrass you." I giggled and looked up at him with a faint smile. "Ok-ay…" he said slowly, obvious confused. "I'm getting the feeling that I'm missing something here."

--

The rest of the morning went by pretty fast. Mason ignored my blushing and things weren't as awkward… for him at least. I was still in that stage that I wanted to call him Merlin. Once I did on accident, but he graciously ignored it, probably thinking I was joking with him.

He finally left, and I was able to be left alone.

Being alone doesn't last long enough though, especially when you want to be unaccompanied.

_Back to Camelot…_

Arthur was waiting impatiently in the courtyard just like he said he would be. Merlin quickly ran down the stairs to join the prince and his knights. They were already on their horses. There was one extra horse that was standing right next to Arthur's, so Merlin jumped up onto the animal ready to go. Arthur looked at his manservant suspiciously, but shook his head.

All seven of the men rode out the gates of Camelot Castle, heading in the direction of the forest. Merlin wondered how long they were going to be gone this time. This trip was going to be so quiet without Jen to bring up strange topics for them all to debate on or to ask her more questions about. Of course, Arthur doesn't share these pleasant memories… he doesn't think so anyway.

After about two minutes they reached the spot Merlin recognized as the place where he found Jen, and where she was sent forward. By now, their footprints were washed away by the rain and wind. The rock was in the exact same place which, for some reason, made Merlin smile.

There was a rustle coming from the bushes. Arthur, Merlin, and all of the knights got off their horses to investigate. The prince drew his sword. The young Pendragon and warlock walked closer to the rock. While Arthur was concentrating on the noise coming from the greenery, Merlin placed one hand on the stone. He missed Jen; he missed his adopted little sister. He smiled.

Suddenly, a light began to surround Arthur and Merlin. It was glowing, engulfing the two in a pool of golden light and swirling dust. Merlin turned his head to look at Arthur. The prince looked just as confused as the warlock.

Just then, Merlin's eyes flashed gold.

Arthur started wide eyed at his manservant. Merlin had that oh-no-what-did-I-just-do look on his face. He hadn't purposefully used his magic, it just acted on instinct. Arthur tried to shout something to him over the wind, but he was unable to say anything. The light had gotten so thick and bright that the two could no longer see the petrified knights on the other side.

In one flash of blinding light, Merlin and Arthur were gone.

When the dust cleared, Sir Leon ran over to the spot that both boys had been previously standing. He circled the area. Only one thing was on his mind;

"_What the hell am I going to tell Uther?"_

**A/N: TADA! Please tell me what you think! I would love to know if this is an alright start to the story!**

**Peace. Love. Merlin!**


	2. The Storm, The Wizard, and The Book

**A/N: May I present… *drum roll* the next chapter! Some questions will be answered in this chapter, but shall also create more in the process. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews/story alerts/favoring! It means so much! To those of you who find yourselves not liking Mason, don't worry. He is supposed to be hated… right now anyway… kind of; though I found it hard to hate a guy who looks like Merlin seeing as he is so innocent looking…**

**Mason: HEY! I heard that!**

**Merlin: What do you mean I look innocent?**

**Arthur: Uh, Jill **(That's me, by the way) **I think you're going to have a mob on your hands…**

**Jill: You're right. Hey boys! *all three look* Anyone want some chocolate? *holds up Hersey's Candy bar***

**Merlin: Some may say I'm an idiot, but I'm not that dumb.**

**Arthur: Yeah, I'm with Merlin. I'm not eating mud.**

**Jill: It's not mud! Ugh, you Medieval people!**

**Mason: Who are you calling Medieval? *looks at Merlin* Aren't you famous or something?**

**Merlin: *smiles* That's right!**

**Arthur: Hold on a minute!**

**Jill: *draws the curtain* Chapter two everyone! Ignore the fight breaking loose over there… I've got $50 on Merlin!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the innocent looking Merlin, only Jen and the strange Mason!**

The wind blew harder against the window waking me from a light sleep. I grabbed my illuminated clock to see the time. It was two thirty in the morning. I groaned loudly and slid back under the covers, but the wind just got louder and louder! As the wind picked up, the window rattled more and more until;

_CRASH!_

I threw my covers off of me to see what the hell happened. To my complete and utter shock, the window on the other side of the room had blown open, glass smashed to tiny fragments on the floor. I got up and walked slowly over the broken window, avoiding the shards at all costs. The swinging door was banging mercilessly against my wall. I slammed the door shut and ran for the duct tape.

Once I was able to keep the window from blowing open again and covering the hole with a pillow case, I focused on the glass fragments that now littered my floor. Before I could even get started cleaning, the wind calmed down to a gentle breeze. Right then, there was yelling outside my dorm room door. The yelling stopped suddenly followed by a knock on my door.

I yawned, my eyes barely open, and walked over to answer the door. My hand reached for the handle and the door slowly came open. It was hard to see in the dark hallway, but there was a man towering over me. I knew at once who it was.

"Mason, what are you doing here?" I groaned, wanting to go back to sleep. The man cocked his head to the side. I stared at him waiting for an answer. "Look, if you're here to study, let me tell you that I'm not one to study in the dead of night, so…" I was about to shut the door on him _and_ his red neckerchief when… wait… red neckerchief?!

I flung my arms around Merlin instantly. He seemed bewildered, but hugged me back. "It's great to see you, Jen!" he said. I smiled when I heard his accent. We stepped back from each other, grinning happily. "I see that you got home alright. Did you get my note?" he asked suddenly.

I nodded. "Yes, I have it! Even though I am ecstatic to see you, I have to ask; what _are_ you doing here?" He bit his lip and looked down at his feet. "Is Arthur here, too?" I asked, keeping my voice level. "Merlin," He looked up at me and nodded solemnly.

"I'm so sorry, Jen! I have no idea what happened." He had the look of pure panic on his face. "One minute we were in Camelot and the next we were in… this place." He said looking around. "I knew this must be your room seeing as it's the closest room that we landed by."

"So what's been happening in Camelot?" I asked before he could go into how messy the halls were.

He shrugged. "Oh, you know, the usual; damsels in distress, Camelot being attacked, me being the hero and getting no credit what so ever." He smiled. "Arthur's dreaming," he muttered. I looked at him confused. "Arthur's been having dreams about you, and I thought that it might be nothing, but he seems keen to find out who you are. Every day he asks me about you. I just tell him he's going mad, but it's not working anymore." He put his hands on his hips. I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, it never did work. You try making something up on the spot!"

I laughed. "Wow, you're life needs to be turned into a TV show." I teased.

He laughed as well, but his face turned serious when a voiced boomed his name.

"Merlin," Arthur called from down the hall. He came walking right up to us. I bowed my head so he wouldn't see me. The prince barely acknowledged my presents. "This is your fault!" he said with a smack to the head. "If you hadn't have gone wandering off from my side we wouldn't be in this mess!" he shouted.

"Wandered off? I took two steps away from you while you were too busy trying to make sure the rabbit in the bushes wasn't mad-eating!" Merlin defended. I let out a small giggled. Oh, I could just imagine that. Arthur Pendragon, great prince and soon to be king scared of Peter Cottontail. Merlin sent a smile towards me.

"I was not!" Arthur yelled back, offended. People were starting to look out their doors to see who was making all of the noise.

"Okay, well this has been fun." I said sarcastically. "Why don't we all just come in here…?" I pulled them inside my room. Luckily they didn't protest. The other girls were looking at me for an explanation, so I said the first thing that came to my mind. "Lovers' quarrel," I lied and shut the door before they started asking questions.

The lights were off in the room, and I wanted to keep it that way. If Arthur saw me now who knows what could happen. I tried to stay in the corner of my room, pouting whilst looking at my unmade bed. Oh, how I wanted to just crawl into it and forget about the two boys fighting in whispers in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, the only way to get some peace and quiet was to break up the quarrel. This has gone on long enough.

"Alright," I shouted, walking over to them. "This fight is now over. Arthur, you stop blaming Merlin and he will stop messing up." I said quickly. Merlin frowned at me, shaking his head. Arthur, however, looked at me curiously. I looked back down at my bare feet.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. I shook my head, still not looking at him. "Are you sure? Because I think I've seen you somewhere before. You are oddly familiar to me, though I can barely remember how I met you. It's like it happened in a dream or something." He laughed then froze. Merlin shot his head up to look at Arthur, eyes wide. I looked around the room, hoping that the subject would be dropped. Arthur blinked a few times and cocked his head. "J-Jen?" he asked in a small voice.

My head snapped up to look at his features. His blonde hair was hanging ever so slightly over his crystal blue eyes that had nothing but confusion and disbelief in them. Merlin sighed. Giving up on the hope of Arthur not remembering, he smiled.

Arthur pulled me into a tight hug, taking in… well his forgotten memories. He was swearing in my ear about how stupid he was to have not remembered who I was. I felt guilt sink into my stomach and I glanced at Merlin. By the expression on his face, he was feeling the same thing.

He pulled back from me, still holding onto both my arms. "How… Why would I…? Oh, what happened?" he said putting his hand up to his temple. Merlin glanced at me before attempting to explain how he forgot me.

"You see, you guys had a fight and since Jen was going back, I put this sp-" he cut himself off when Arthur gave him a strange look. "What _do_ you remember?" Merlin asked quickly. _"Nice save,"_ I couldn't help but think.

Arthur glared at his manservant. "All I remember is Jen and I _discussing_ her going back and that you…" he paused, walking towards Merlin, pointing an accusing finger. "You're a sorcerer. How is that even possible?" I laughed once before covering my mouth, glancing at my book titled _Merlin; Greatest Wizard of Camelot_. "Never mind that," Arthur shook his head. "I don't care. I just want to know where we are." He said, gazed around the room.

"Arthur, we're in my time." I spoke. He bent his head down to make sure he had heard me correctly.

"W-what?" he asked, worry in his eyes. He looked at Merlin. The warlock shrugged and walked over to the shattered window. "When you got back here, was everyone surprised to see you after all this time?" Arthur asked, deciding to change the subject.

I shook my head. "No, it seems that time had stopped when I went back. Once I got back here, everything was the same. My roommate, Sarah, said that I had just overslept." I commented. Arthur breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the gods!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "My father would get paranoid if my knights came back without his son." I bit my lip. His smile slowly faded. "What is it?" I looked over at Merlin and it was obvious that he understood what I was thinking. "Time _is_ going to freeze until we get back?" It was more of a question.

I patted him on the arm. "Arthur, see," Merlin gave me that look saying _you may as well tell him_. "If time stopped two thousand years in the past, then time wouldn't go on here. It would be frozen as well. My time only paused with my situation because the future hasn't happened yet… I think." I explained. That was the best theory I could come up with, and I was sticking with it. I looked at Merlin. "Is that right?"

The warlock smiled slightly. "Yeah, that's what I would say." Arthur sighed. "Sorry, sire, but magic is tricky and so is time."

I frowned. "Was there another eclipse?" I asked. How else had they gotten here?

"No," Merlin said, a bit confused as well. "I think I may have opened some sort of time portal when I sent you forward." He scratched his black hair, messing it up even more. I smiled at him. He was becoming the most powerful, _good_ warlock the world has ever known! He saw the pride in my face and flashed me a wink.

Arthur looked at our exchange and frowned. "I'm missing something." He said bluntly. Arthur looked around the room again and spotted the books on my table. Slowly, he walked over to the volumes that caught his attention. "What's this?" he asked, holding up one of the tattered manuscripts that had the title _The Rise and Fall of King Arthur_.

My mouth fell open as I ran over to him and snatched the book out of his hand. Merlin's eyes were wide and Arthur had a torn expression on his face. Quickly, I hid the book behind my back and cleared my throat. Things were going to be weird if the subject didn't change.

"H-how did that window break?" Merlin spoke up. Arthur's face dropped and sat down on Sarah's bed. His armor clamored as he put his head in his hands. Finally, he put his head up, facing me.

"Yes, how did the window break?" said Arthur smugly. I sighed, so thankful that he wasn't going to go into details. He got up and put his arms around me. "I'm sorry, and I won't make this hard for you by asking questions." He whispered, and I knew he wasn't talking about the window. I kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Oh no," Merlin said loudly. We both turned to him. "Guys, I think we may have a problem." He said. There was a shaky edge to his voice. I looked up at the prince who took my hand out of his and walked over to his manservant, arms folded. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"With you, Merlin, there's always a problem."

Merlin shook his head violently. "No, I mean we have a serious problem!" He turned to the glass that was lying on the floor lazily. Merlin outstretched his hand. _"Xiftiwon" _he said. I was expecting the glass to go back into the pane, but nothing happened. My mouth fell open. _"Odnu nekorb"_ he tried once more, and again, nothing happened. He slapped his hands on his sides. "I don't have my magic."

Arthur groaned when he saw that Merlin was _not_ pulling our leg. I was still at a loss for words when Arthur began talking.

"Well, I see I'm going to miss the feast tomorrow night." he said to lighten the mood.

Merlin groaned slapping his knee. "This isn't good. This really isn't good! I've never _not_ had my magic. Now, how am I going to do… well _everything_?! If Arthur doesn't get back then he will never become king and Albion-"

"You babble when you're nervous." I pointed out. I looked at Arthur. "Was the feast anything super important?" the prince thought about that for a second before shaking his head. "Good, then it's tomorrow's problem." I said with a yawn. "Merlin, you can take one bed. Arthur, you take the other." I grabbed my pillow, a spare blanket, and flopped both items on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Merlin and Arthur both said at the exact same time, just as I laid down on the floor.

"Going to sleep," I said. My eyes closed. "We will… deal… with the rest…" yawn "in the… morning." I was hearing the boys' protests, but I couldn't make out their words. There was something about Merlin being a servant and women sleeping on the floor. I think there was a curse word thrown in there as well, but I can't be sure.

--

"Jen, Je-en," a light voice said, shaking me awake. My eyes opened to a raven haired boy that had a huge smile. "We hate to wake you, but we are starving." With a laugh, I got up from my makeshift bed. Arthur was out of his armor which was stacked in the corner of the room.

"Where are the torches? It's too dark in here." Arthur said, a bit annoyed by the lack of light.

I giggled. "I thought I told you, we don't have torches." I walked over to the light switch and flicked it upwards. The lights in the ceiling came on and the boys covered their eyes. I felt bad about not warning them.

--

After I showed them how to use the bathroom and explained indoor plumbing (something Arthur swore was magic) and got dressed, I told them I was going to take them out to breakfast. When I told them that, they were more than relieved. "But first," They groaned. "You two need to blend in more." I said eyeing Arthur up and down. "And that means, no swords." I pointed to the weapon that was hanging from a belt tied around his waist. Reluctantly he took it off, and I stuffed it into a closet. I hate sharp objects. It was time to talk clothes. Arthur was wearing a red tunic and brown pants. He had boots on that were not exactly Nike. I ruffled his hair a little bit and even tried to do something with his shirt. I groaned.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, not liking being my personal Barbie.

I put my hands on my hips. "You're going to stand out anywhere, Arthur Pendragon, no matter what you wear." My head cocked to the side as I tried to think of anything, but I just couldn't. He was a prince and he looked the part. There was nothing that can change that, so I turned to Merlin.

He had on a brown jacket and a red neckerchief over a blue tunic and brown pants. For the most famous sorcerer ever, Merlin looked pretty normal. He smiled as I didn't do anything to him until I realized something. Neckerchiefs went out of style I have no idea how many years ago (if they ever _were_ in style that is).

"Merlin," I said, stepping closer to him. "I'm really sorry, but I need the neckerchief." Arthur chuckled as he patted his friend on the back.

"I told you that thing was ridiculous." Arthur commented with an award winning smile. Merlin was about to take it off when I stopped him.

"Wait," I could see that Merlin couldn't come to terms to part with the material, and who was I to separate a wizard from his neckwear? "You should wear it. It looks good on you." My complement made Merlin smile happily and Arthur roll his eyes.

"I think I'm going to be sick." He murmured. It was my turn to roll my eyes.

We walked off campus, headed towards the smells of food. When Arthur and Merlin saw cars, this sparked a whole other round of questions. They seemed kind of scared of our "strange transportation methods."

"Right here," I told them when we reached the entrance to McDonald's. Merlin looked impressed by the building and even more impressed by the aroma of the food coming from it.

Arthur scratched his head. "Can't we go over there instead?" he asked pointing to the food joint next to us. I let out a laugh when I saw what it was; Burger King. "It seems more formal. This King of Burgers must be important, but it isn't much of a palace…"

"Uh, Arthur," I tried to stifle another giggle. "I hate to burst your bubble, but there is no 'King of Burgers' because there is no land called 'Burger.' A burger is what you eat." I explained. Arthur looked completely flustered. "Now, we need to get to Mickey D's before breakfast is over." Arthur looked a bit uneasy. "What is it?" I asked.

Arthur frowned. "I don't have my sword."

"Well, if I hadn't confiscated it back at the dorm then you have been arrested, which would've caused more problems, seeing as you don't exist." I told the solemn prince.

"Yes, but it feels strange to _not_ have it." he complained.

Merlin let out a laugh that was drained of all humor. "You think that's bad, try not having magic when you've always had it."

People were starting to stare. "Alright, do you want to eat or explain why you two are talking magic to those officers over there?" They exchanged looks, seeing that an officer was a person in authority. Merlin held the door open for us, and we stepped inside the crowded building.

It was finally our turn to order. I stepped up to the counter with my boys at my side. "We would like three McGriddles with a side of hash browns, two chocolate shakes, and one water, please." The woman nodded and repeated the order. I got out my wallet from my purse and paid her, getting a protest from Arthur saying that paper isn't money. He got out his gold coins and offered to pay, but the cashier took my money and glared at the prince. After a minute, our food was ready. Merlin carried the food, and Arthur held the chair out for me to sit down. I smiled graciously.

The warlock sat the tray down, and I passed out the food. "Okay, boys, enjoy your first taste of the cocoa bean, otherwise known as chocolate!" I pushed the shakes towards them. They took a sip from the straw and their faces lit up. "Solid chocolate is really good, too." I added as I saw them not wanting to put the paper cups down. I took a small bite out of my sandwich and the heat warmed my body instantly.

I heard giggling coming from the table that was by the window. There were four girls looking at our table and whispering. I turned back to my sandwich. There were footsteps getting louder until I saw red, tacky shoes in front of our table. I looked up to see a bleach blond girl wearing a light pink, low cut top.

"Hi," she greeted in a high-pitched voice, looking at Arthur. "I'm Marie," Her smile got even bigger.

"I'm Arthur," he said curtly, shaking her hand.

"Merlin," the warlock shook her hand from across the table.

Marie seemed to be confused by the names, but shook off the feeling. "My friends and I were noticing you from over there. Would you boys like to come sit with us?" She glanced at me. "I'm sorry, and you are?" she said, not sorry in the least bit. I glared at that annoying, fake smile, and smiled back.

"_The person who is going to be your worst nightmare if you don't stop flirting with my boyfriend," _I wanted to say so badly, but instead I pointed to Arthur. "His girlfriend," I said just as chipper. Her smile went down slightly. Marie looked at Merlin.

"What about you, cutie?" she asked, still hopeful. "Are you interested in joining us? You may find it worth your time." She smiled wickedly. "You up for it, cowboy?" she was eyeing Merlin's neckerchief. I couldn't help but mouth a 'wow' in her direction.

Merlin looked a little uncomfortable, yet flattered. "Uh, no, I'm sorry. I'm with them." He said loyally. Arthur and I smiled at the warlock. Marie rolled her eyes and turned on her heel. She obviously wasn't used to being turned down.

Breakfast was finally finished. The three of us left the food joint and went back to campus. It wasn't ten minutes after we had settled down, talking and laughing about the stories about Camelot and thinking of ways to solve Merlin's problem, that we were interrupted by a knock on the door. This confused me, seeing as I wasn't expecting anyone. I got up from my place next to Merlin and answered the door.

"Mason," I exclaimed as I saw the tall, black-haired boy. "What are you doing here?"

He looked around "Can I come in?" he asked. I glanced at my Medieval friends and back to him, stepping aside to let him through. Mason saw the two people and met eyes with Merlin. They stared at each other blankly. Arthur was obviously freaked out as he was looking at the two of them over and over again. Mason shook his head, snapping himself out of it. He held up an old, tattered, leather-bound book.

Merlin's eyes widened. I saw him mouth disbelievingly, _"My magic book,"_

My head snapped back to look at Mason. "Do you know anything about this? It appeared on my bed. And when I say 'appeared' I mean 'materialized.'"

**A/N: Sorry about the cliffhanger. I had to do it because, well, it's fun! Please review for more! Have a great day!**


	3. Five Dollars Per Destiny

**A/N: Sorry it has taken longer, but you know how school goes. Thank you all for your reviews for my sequel! I wasn't sure if it would be any good seeing as sometimes sequels just… well aren't. It always makes me smile to get a review! It really, really does!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the innocent looking Merlin, only the strange Mason and Jen.**

_Back at Camelot…_

"Sire," Sir Leon started. They had headed back to the castle to inform the king of what happened immediately. "Prince Arthur has been taken by means of magic." He said strongly, not wanting to show that he was truly frightened in front of the king.

"_What?!_" Uther exclaimed, standing up out of his throne. "Did you see the sorcerer who did this?"

"No, sire, it was all too sudden. The wind just appeared out of nowhere, and when it disappeared Prince Arthur wasn't there." Sir Leon informed Uther. "But he didn't go alone, sire." He said quickly before he could see smoke come out of the king's ears.

Luckily, this news did calm him down a bit. "Which knight went with him?"

Leon gulped. "It wasn't a knight, sire. His servant, Merlin, went with him." This wasn't the right thing to say. Uther walked swiftly down to face the knight with nothing but pure anger in the king's face. A twinge of fear shot through Leon.

"You're telling me that that clumsy, disobedient manservant of Arthur's is the _only_ one there to help protect me son?!" Uther boomed. "A sorcerer took him away to most likely kill him, and all you can tell me is that you don't know what the villain looks like and that he is with his useless _manservant_!" Uther began pacing the room before turning to look at the knights that were staring at him. "Search the lands. I want my son found. Tear apart every druid village you may come across. I want Arthur to be found!"

_Back to the Future…_

All three of us just stood there in complete and total shock. Mason was holding the book in both of his hands, trying to figure out how he came to posses it. It was clear that Merlin was debating something in his head, which made me curious. Arthur kept glancing at Mason and Merlin, obviously amazed by how much they look alike. It _was_ quite extraordinary.

Mason slowly opened the book. His eyes widened when he saw what was in it, though I don't know why. He couldn't possibly know what the book says. It's all in Latin, and nobody could read Latin these days. But judging by the look on Merlin's face, something was definitely wrong.

"Why can I read Latin?" Mason asked suddenly. "I only know the French word 'bonjour' and I don't even know what that means!" he exclaimed, looking at us suspiciously. Merlin, Arthur, and I exchanged worried looks. "And why do I have a weird feeling that you have something to do with this?" he asked me. I bit my lip. I glanced over at Merlin for any kind of explanation because I sure didn't have one. "Well," Mason pressed.

"Mason," Merlin began. "I want you to say '_Xiftiwon_' and focus on the broken glass." He said. Mason snorted a laugh and rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, freak." He muttered. "Xeftoon" Mason grumbled looking at the glass shatters on the floor that I had yet to pick up. I watched his eyes, wondering if they were going to turn gold. For some reason, when nothing happened Merlin looked disappointed. Mason looked over at his look-alike. "What did you expect to happen?" he snorted.

Arthur turned to Merlin. "Was the glass supposed to…?" the prince gestured towards the pillowcase covered window. The warlock nodded, staring at Mason with pure confusion.

"Say it with more feeling." Merlin instructed.

I walked over to his side to whisper in his ear. "Where are you going with this, Merlin?"

"Just watch," he whispered back. "Focus, really focus on the glass and say '_Xiftiwon'_ with a lot of feeling." Mason looked completely disbelieving. Merlin shrugged. "I'm serious." Mason rolled his eyes. "Oh, and hold your arm out with your hand." Merlin quickly demonstrated the gesture before he told Mason to try.

There was an awkward silence in the room whilst Mason shook his head at all three of us. Slowly, he outstretched his arm, breathing out deeply. "_Xiftiwon"_ he said with the feeling that Merlin was talking about. His grey-green eyes were focused on the debris. Suddenly, his eyes flashed a bright gold and the glass zoomed back up onto the window. The pillowcase fell off and the pieces of glass fit back together like a magical puzzle. Mason stumbled backwards, tripping on his own feet. "H-how did that happen?!" his voice cracked. "Who are you people? _What_ are you people?"

There was an accusing finger in my face that was shaking wildly. Merlin stepped forward, fearing what might happen if he got too angry or scared. "Look, Mason, it was nothing bad. You just did magic, that's all." He said calmly.

"Just magic," Mason yelled still walking backwards towards the door. "I have no idea what you freaks are talking about! I-I can't do magic because magic doesn't exist!" he stuttered. "You people are crazy; you aren't human, or something."

"No, Mason," Merlin began but the boy slammed the door and was already down the hall before you could say 'Camelot.' "That went well." He said simply.

"Well, what were you expecting? And why does he have your magic?" Arthur yelled at his friend. I walked over to stand in front of the two just in case this turned violent.

"It's just a hunch, but I think that Mason might be…" Merlin paused making sure Arthur was going to calm down. "My descendant," he finished. "That's why I don't have my powers. When we came here they went to him, though I don't know why he didn't have them before I came here." He said puzzled.

"That's good to know, Merlin, but didn't you see him? He was terrified! He's not going to help us get back to Camelot." Arthur boomed. He looked down at me. "But he can take his time." I smiled. Arthur looked at his manservant. "You are going to train him."

"What?" Merlin asked disbelievingly.

A smile broke out on my face. "That's actually a really good idea." I said which earned me a glare from Merlin. "If you trained Mason how to use his magic then he may understand it more and not be as scared of you guys. He may come to his senses."

"But, Arthur, you said it yourself; he won't want to come near us after that. Training him might be a little much. Besides, he won't take me or the magic seriously!" Merlin protested with raised hands. It was clear that he was fighting a losing battle. I hated to be arguing with Merlin. Usually, I would be agreeing with him, seeing as he is the brains in Merlin and Arthur's strange friendship.

"You're his ancestor, _make_ him take it seriously." Arthur shot back. "It is your job to train him, Merlin."

"What do I tell him? 'Hi, I'm Merlin from Camelot. You know, that wizard whose friends with King Arthur. Camelot is a legend in this time. He wouldn't believe me!" he strained, but that gave me an idea that might just work.

"Merlin, I know you can do this. You can do anything that you set your mind to." I said giving him the old-fashioned pep talk. From my stack of books on my wooden desk, I picked up _Merlin; Greatest Wizard of Camelot_ and handed it to him. "Here, look at this."

He took the volume hesitantly, examining the title. Merlin flipped to the first chapter. _1: Advising the Once and Future King_ it read. The warlock took in a deep breath before looking back up at us with a newfound confidence. A smile spread across his face. "Alright, let's go."

Merlin headed for the door with Arthur and I close at his heels. "Good job." Arthur whispered in my ear as we walked down the hall. Merlin was leading, remembering how we got out of the building when we left for breakfast.

I looked up at the prince. "Thank you, but I wasn't making any of it up."

Arthur's smile widened. "I believe you. You're honest… mostly. That's one of the things I love about you." My cheeks turned a bright red as Arthur held the door open for me. Finally we were outside of the building. Merlin did a total three-sixty, and then looked at me.

"Where are his chambers located?" he asked. I was dumbfounded. There was a little flaw to my plan; I _didn't_ know where he lived. I needed to think of something quickly.

"I…don't…really…know…" I stuttered. Merlin and Arthur groaned loudly, so I continued. "_But_, Professor Warren might know. It's a weekend, so he's probably in the classroom planning for next week's lessons. He doesn't really have anything else to do, so he dedicates himself to our class." I explained whilst pulling them towards the University.

At long last we reached his room. As I predicted, Warren was standing at the front of the class with the projector on. He was reading a book and occasionally taking a few notes in his planner. When we came in, he looked up from his work. He cracked a smile.

"Jen," he said taking off his glasses. "What brings you here?"

"I was wondering if you could tell us where Mason lives. It's an urgent matter." I informed him. Warren glanced at the two boys behind me with curiosity in his eyes.

"Who are these gentlemen?" he asked, waving his glasses towards them.

"I'm, err, Merlin." He said.

Warren let out a joyful laugh. "Named after the wizard, no doubt!" he exclaimed. "And you?" he asked the prince.

"I'm," Arthur glanced at me for a second. "I'm Arthur." Warren's eyes began to sparkle. I cringed.

"Is that so? Ha-HA! You must be pulling my leg. Jen, I think I see where you got the idea of having a young Merlin and Arthur." Warren rejoiced. "You are a very clever girl." He sat down his binder on the desk.

"What is the lesson?" Arthur asked.

"Funny you should ask." Warren said, clicking a button that flipped to the next slide of the PowerPoint on the projector, something of which the boys were shocked. "We're studying King Arthur and his wife, G-"

"Professor!" I interrupted quickly. "Do you know where he lives or not? We are kind of in a hurry." Warren seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn't go into the lesson with these two men that were named after the legendary figures.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry." He quickly wrote down his room and building, handing it to me.

"Thank you so much!" I exclaimed as we headed out of the room. Arthur rushed to my side.

"Why didn't you let him finish?" he teased.

I smiled sarcastically. "Oh, that's very funny, Arthur."

--

We headed into building five and down the hall until we reached the right room. I knocked on the door. There were faint footfalls on the other side of the door. The door cracked open to reveal a short boy with red hair.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a low voice.

"Is Mason here?" I asked, starting to wonder if we knocked on the wrong door. The redhead nodded and gestured for Mason to come to the door. When he saw that it was us he turned to his nonchalant roommate.

"Dude, can you give me like five minutes?" Mason asked. The redhead shrugged and strolled on down the hall. Mason turned to look at us, still not letting us enter the room. It's not like we were vampires. "What do you want?" he complained. Arthur and I looked at Merlin.

"_Take it away."_ I thought. The atmosphere was so intense that it was almost like we were on a game show and this was the final question that we didn't know the answer to. Merlin seemed to be struggling for words, and Arthur's intensive glare wasn't helping. "Mason, why don't we get out of the hallway? Merlin, here, needs to talk to you about… stuff." I said just as I noticed that there was a few guys ease dropping on our conversation. I sent a glare in their direction.

They started to chuckle so loud and uncontrollably that Arthur murmured, "Pathetic. Do they have no honor?" I squeezed his hand to calm him down. To my luck-and to those guys' luck-he calmed down. It's a good thing that I took away his sword.

"No way, I'm not letting you people in here." Mason was just about to slam the door in our faces when I said;

"You'd be a hero."

The door creaked back open. "What?" he asked. I smiled at Merlin telling him it was his turn.

"We need your help. If you don't help us, then people could die." Merlin said. If he was lying then it was the most convincing lie I had ever seen. I looked up at Arthur to see him nodding at me. "Please, and I can help you."

Mason began to look skeptical, yet intrigued on the fact that he may be a hero. "What do you mean 'people could die?'" he asked.

Merlin looked around. "That's what we need to talk about in private." Mason was hesitant, but opened the door farther so we could walk through. "Thank you,"

"Now, start explaining." Mason ordered.

--

After about thirty minutes of telling Mason the truth about Merlin and Arthur, it took another hour and a half to just convince him that we weren't crazy. Merlin told Mason about the magic book and how it must have come to him for some unknown-magical-reason. Arthur told him about how Camelot and about how he wasn't king. I had to stop Mason many times when he almost spilled the beans on who Arthur married and about their futures. He didn't seem to understand.

"I would love to know my future." He had said after I had interrupted him for the thirtieth time, in counting.

"You must see that it's better for us to not know, though." Merlin said in his all-wise-warlock voice. "Things can change, and dwelling on what could happen is too risky." By now, Mason was more attentive and open to what we had to say.

Merlin, in fact, began to show him how to use his magic and how to cast some spells. It was kind of fun, seeing as I got to break a few of Mason's valuable objects to which he protested greatly, throwing in a curse word in here and there. It was fine, though, because he was able to fix all of the items using magic, something he was very amazed about.

It was the evening before Arthur, Merlin, and I decided we should leave. "Hey, I'm going out for dinner. Why don't you guys come with me?" Mason offered. "What do you say, Gramps?" he teased, punching Merlin's shoulder lightly.

"I don't see why not." Merlin shrugged.

"What do you think, My Lady?" Arthur smiled at me.

"Why not?" I agreed. The four of us left campus, and walked down the street. Mason said that he wanted to take us to this new place that just opened down on the block corner. He got a kick out of Arthur and Merlin's fear of the cars that were passing by us.

"Hey, let's go in there." Mason said suddenly, stopping in front of a shop that had deep purple curtains in the windows. There were maroon candles lining the edge of the window ledge that gave an eerie feeling to the place. On the glass was painted in purple _Madam Cybil; Gypsy Fortuneteller._

I raised my eyebrows. "A fortuneteller," I said doubtfully. "_Why_?"

"Jen's right, I don't think we should be dealing with Gypsies." Arthur said. Mason and I gave him a strange look. "Is it not illegal here?" he asked. We shook our heads. "Right, never mind," I couldn't help but laugh a little. This had to be a big change for him.

Mason looked at all three of us. "You guys are the ones who introduced me to magic and stuff. I never would have considered this before now, but seeing as I know about sorcerers, we could give it a shot. This Cybil could be legit." He begged.

I crossed my arms. "Or she will just take your money after looking into a crystal ball."

"Come on, what do we have to lose?"

"_Our dignity_," I thought, but followed the boys into the shop. There was very dim lighting. The source of the light was coming from the numerous candles that were lit. The shelves were draped with the same curtains as the ones in the windows. There were small, wooden chairs with chipping pink paint right by a table that had a multicolored cloth on covering the surface. In the middle of the table was a crystal ball which was sitting on a wooden stand.

"Welcome, my friends." A low voice said. We all spun around to find where the voice came from. My eyes fell on a dark corner where I could faintly make out a shape. A woman stepped out into the light with a wise-and sleazy-look on her face. She had a dark pink bandana with beads hanging from the ends. Her hair was short and being held out of her face by the bandana. The woman was dressed in maroon shawls that covered her shoes. There were great, gold hoops hanging from her ears that looked painful. All in all, she definitely looked the part. "I am Cybil. There is no doubt for why you are here. You are seeking guidance. It is only five dollars per destiny."

Her approach took me by surprise, but Merlin seemed to be studying her carefully, making sure she was trustworthy. Mason already had out his wallet, handing her the bill. She smiled her thanks and gestured for him to sit down at the table.

"What about you three?" she asked curiously. "Care to know your destiny?" I heard Merlin snort slightly. I understood why; he already knew his destiny. Arthur, however, seemed intrigued. "Well, dears?" she asked again.

"Sure," I caved handing her a five and sitting down. Cybil looked at the two remaining boys.

"We don't have any money." Arthur informed her.

"I think we could work something out. Telling your fortune is pay enough. There is a strange aura about you two." Cybil observed. I rolled my eyes. Merlin and Arthur shrugged and sat down next to me. "You first, my child," she said to me. "You are obviously the doubter." Cybil took my hand in hers and her eyes closed. Her face twisted to a concerned expression. She took in a gasp of air and opened her eyes quickly, patting my hand.

"Strange," she muttered under her breath. "Be careful what you do in your travels, my dear." She said with pure concern. She looked at Mason and took his hand. Immediately, her eyes flashed open. "What on earth…?" Her eyes closed again whilst I rolled mine. "This has never happened before." Cybil said at long last.

"What is it?" Mason asked quickly.

"I have not seen your future, but your past, your ancestors, child." Cybil explained, glancing over at Merlin and Arthur. The two boys exchanged looks. "You come from these two gentlemen who are sitting before us. Their children married, and…" she trailed off. "No, no, no, that's just not possible." Cybil quickly took Arthur's hand. Four words escaped her lips. "Once and Future King," The words were barely audible, but you could hear the shock.

Cybil stood up from her chair and walked over to Merlin. "You," it wasn't accusing. It was very soft and almost happy. She reached for Merlin's hand and clutched it in hers. I watched as her eyes closed and she began to shake. "Oh my," she screeched. "Out," Cybil yelled as she pushed us out the door. "Never come back here. You are no longer welcome." Before she slammed the door in our faces, she threw something at us. It was the money. Quickly, Cybil turned the blue 'open' sign to make it say 'closed.'

"Peculiar," Arthur muttered.

Merlin seemed troubled about the Gypsy Lady. "Very,"

**A/N: There's no cliffhanger this time! Please review! There is a funny chapter coming up (unless I change it), so please review to get it sooner!**


	4. Love Hate Lust

**A/N: Hey, guys. Thanks a billion for reviewing! So, this chapter you will either love or hate. There was just this plot that I couldn't get out of my head and needed to write. You know how that goes. You can't sleep, you can't eat, not until you've finally typed it out! I'm just kidding… kind of…**

**I got the idea after watching the episode Sweet Dreams and I've had it ever since. Please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, Arthur, or Arthur's pants. (That's kind of an inside joke so just ignore the pants bit. =D)**

_In The Boy's Dorm…_

Mason flipped through the magic book, looking for nothing in particular. He was bored and could think of nothing better to do than lie on his bed and brush up on the magic. It had been such a shock to him to find out that Merlin and Arthur really existed, let alone, he's related to them. This world sure did work in strange ways.

He turned the page to see a very odd looking spell. "Love, Hate, Lust," Mason read the fancy words at the top of the page. Below the scrawled words was the picture of a rose burning in blue flames. Next to the flame was a simply worded spell. He had no idea what it would do, but he could reverse it. "The spell needs two names, huh?" he read. "Why not," he said lazily.

The boy got up from off of his bed. There was a single, plastic rose over his bed which was given to him by a girl last year. He opened his drawer to get out the matches. Mason walked back over to the book with the materials in hand. He struck the match, causing the flames to raise high before diming to a slow burn. Grabbing the flower, Mason let the plastic burn in the fire, turning the artificial plant whilst saying the spell. "_Tel Jennifer llaf ni amor htiw Merlin_"

Immediately, the flames turned blue, consuming the flower. Mason let go of the stem before his hand could get incinerated. It floated there in midair until the petals disappeared out of thin air, leaving only the plastic stem. The green stem landed silently on the floor. Mason smiled, satisfied with himself. _"That was cool, whatever it did."_ He thought to himself. He took another look at the spell. Wait, what did 'amor' mean?!

_In The Girl's Dorm Five Minutes Earlier…_

Merlin was pacing in my room so much that I thought he was going to burn a whole in the carpet. I felt sorry for him, seeing as he didn't have any magic with him other than Mason who was beginning to be unreliable. For the past day and a half, he had been worried about that Gypsy Fortuneteller. I was trying to convince him that a lot of people are frauds when it comes to fortunetelling. Merlin, being from a world where most denied having magic, wasn't convinced that she would advertise that she had powers if she didn't.

Arthur had wanted to practice his sword fighting. For some reason he kept reminding me every time I asked him to stop that he needed to be able to protect me. "Arthur, swords don't stand a chance against guns." I pleaded with him. Two hugs and one very passionate kiss later, he gave in and handed me the sword. "Thank you," I said relieved as I placed the weapon back in the closet.

I sat down on my bed watching the two boys argue about who was going to be the one to go get Mason. Neither one of them trusted Mason fully, so they always fought over who was going to go and get him. This was beginning to become a daily occurrence.

"You are related to him!" Arthur yelled defensively. This is exactly why I put away the sword…

"So are you!" Merlin argued back.

"Yes, but he's got your magic!" the prince barked back.

"So, that doesn't mean a thing!" Merlin defended.

"You go get him!"

"I did last time!"

"That doesn't matter!"

This was unbelievable! "Boys," I yelled as loud as I could manage. They both turned to stare at me, stunned. "Look," my voice went quieter. "Arthur, you go get Mason, and bring him here. Merlin will stay here with me and wait. No more arguments. Now go, please."

Arthur sighed and gave me kiss on the cheek before exiting the room to retrieve Mason. I turned to look at Merlin knowing he needed something to occupy his time other than worry and Mason. "Here," I walked over to my small stack of books. I went through the volumes until I found the right one. "Why don't you read this? It's about a boy wizard and you are mentioned in here once or twice." I smiled as I handed him my worn out volume of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone_.

With a bright smile on his face, Merlin took the book out of my hands eager to read it. It was moments like these that just make your day! He sat down on Sarah's bed and opened up the book to the first page, perfectly content.

I was about to go and brush up on some reading as well, but something suddenly came over me. For some reason I looked over at Merlin, and I saw him in a whole new way. The warlock was so handsome with his short, black hair and his red neckerchief! I had never noticed before how charming his smile really was, or how his eyes sparkled. I couldn't help but admire every one of his perfect features.

With a great intake of air, I made my way over to Merlin. When he saw me so close, he smiled and said, "Yes," Never in my life had I heard someone say 'yes' with such beauty. I bit my lip and motioned for him to stand up which he did. It was obvious he was confused, though.

I took the book out of his hands and gently threw it on the bed, pulling him closer. My heart was beating harder and harder the more I looked into his eyes. That voice in the back on my head piped up, "Just kiss him already!" I put my right hand on the back of his head and stood on my toes, crushing our lips together.

Merlin had his wide eyes open. I backed off for a minute. "Close your eyes. It's rude." I said and continued kissing him. There was so much power that my heart was about to pop out of my chest. I was trying to push him towards the bed, but he wouldn't budge.

At that moment the door opened, but I didn't care one bit. All I cared about was kissing my warlock, my love, my Merlin. There was a crash as if someone dropped a heavy object.

"_Merlin,"_ Arthur barked from the doorway. The two of us separated. Merlin's eyes went even wider if it was possible. Mason, who was standing right next to the angered prince, was speechless and didn't bother picking up the book he had dropped. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Merlin backed off immediately. "Arthur, I swear this isn't what it looks like!"

"Isn't what it looks like?" Arthur repeated. "I get that you were angry, but this is ridiculous."

"Oh, no," Mason said suddenly. Arthur and Merlin looked at Mason whilst I was more concerned about Merlin. "I think I might have done something."

"What kind of thing are we talking?" Merlin asked quickly.

"I'm not sure exactly."

"Show me the spell." Merlin ordered. He's so hot when he's in charge! He picked up the book and found the page of the spell he had used. "Love, Hate, Lust," Merlin read aloud. "It gives you a choice of three words. Which one did you use?"

"That one, the 'amor' one," he said pointing to the Latin word. Merlin's head shot up to look at a guilty looking Mason.

"Whose names did you use?" Mason bit his lip. "Well," Merlin pressed on.

"I used Jen's name and your name." he confessed.

"_What_," Merlin and Arthur exclaimed at the same time.

"Hey, in my defense I didn't know what 'amor' even meant!" Mason put his hands up in surrender. Merlin sighed.

"It means 'love.'" The warlock informed him. Mason shrugged and sat the book down on a bed. I walked over to Merlin and began smiling and giggling at him. "Okay then," Merlin said uncomfortably. Arthur looked as if he was about to murder someone.

The prince put a hand up to his temple. "We have _got_ to fix this."

I looked at him with my arms around Merlin. "Fix what?"

--

"This should work." Mason piped up after a few minutes of reading. He pointed his hand at me. "_Tribire res quensy Jen higa Merlin_" His eyes didn't flash gold and he seemed puzzled. "Nothing happened." He pointed out.

Merlin then asked, "What kind of flower did you use?"

"Well, I used a fake rose."

Merlin and Arthur's eyes widened. "There are _fake_ plants?" Arthur asked astonished. He shook his head. "Never mind that, Merlin what does that mean?"

I looked at the warlock intently, awaiting his answer. "It probably reinforced the spell to make it almost impossible to break. If it's fake then it can't die." He concluded. Arthur let out an extremely loud groan before walking over to me.

"That can't be good." He murmured. "Well, we need to find a way to fix this because I would like to have Jennifer back, instead of watching her snog my manservant." Arthur said, gesturing disgustedly towards me kissing Merlin's neck. I rolled my eyes and stopped, pouting.

Mason crossed his arms. "Alright, don't get your crown on too tight." Arthur glared murderously. Mason looked through the book to take a glance at that spell again. "Let me try this." He conjured a real rose and said the spell, "_Tel Jennifer llaf ni niþ htiw Arthur"_ he tried. This time, his eyes did flash gold.

I looked over at Arthur as anger began to wash over me, flooding my heart. "You," I growled. "Why did you even come here? I was just adjusting to life without you, and here you are!" I yelled. "How could you do this to me? Don't you know that a girl can only take so much beating?" Arthur stumbled back as I advanced on him. "You and your little friend, here, are taking over _my_ space and _my_ room, complicating _my_ life!"

"The same thing happened when you can to Camelot." Arthur shot back.

I smiled with irritation. "Oh, don't you pin this on me."

"Alright, we need to look at the book." Merlin said clapping his hands together. He and Mason bent over the book. Merlin looked up annoyed. "You told her to be angry towards Arthur. She hates him now." Mason exhaled heavily. "Conjure another rose."

"-turned you in if I wanted to!" Arthur yelled. I had tuned out of our argument, but I was sure I knew what he was talking about.

"I have an idea." Mason said after a moment's silence.

Arthur pointed a finger at him. "No more ideas will be heard from you."

Merlin, choosing to ignore Arthur, asked, "What's that?"

"Chocolate," he said simply. "Girls say chocolate always makes them happy, so maybe that will work." Arthur was staring at him like he was crazy, but Merlin nodded and went over to my drawer.

"Hey, you put that chocolate back!" I yelled, angry about… something. Merlin had my Hershey's candy bar in hand, and broke a piece off, handing it to me. I took it out of his hands, very confused as to why I was eating chocolate _now_. As I took a bite, warmth came over me and I was able to see things clearly, like what was rational and irrational. I started to feel dizzy, and Merlin helped me sit down on Sarah's bed. "What happened?" I asked, looking up at all three boys.

"I can't believe that worked!" Mason said with great joy. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You can't remember what happened?" Merlin asked. I shook my head, still bewildered.

"Mason cast a spell and you were in love with Merlin." He told me. My mouth fell open.

"I was _what_?" I demanded. Arthur nodded. "That's not true." I froze, realizing what I had just said. I looked at the warlock who had a cross between an astonished and amused look on his face. "Not that I don't love you. I mean, I do, but as a friend or a brother." My words jumbled together and thankfully Merlin started laughing.

"Jen, Jen, it's fine." He chuckled. I let out a sigh of relief.

Slowly, I made my way to where Mason was standing, and held out my hands. "Book," I said. He looked around at us, not sure what I was asking. "Give Merlin the book. We can't have accidents like these happening every few seconds." Mason looked at Merlin for some backup.

"She's right." Merlin confessed. "You really shouldn't do spells that you don't know what the outcome will be."

Arthur glared at Merlin. "Yes, Merlin knows that from personal experience, don't you Merlin?"

"Whoa, how did you know about that? You didn't know about magic then." Merlin squinted his eyes at the prince.

"No, but after I _regained my memory_, I thought more about it, and realized that you had to be the idiot to have done it." Arthur accused.

"Wait, do what? What happened?" I asked, trying to break up the potential fight.

They both completely ignored me. "Well, I told you I was sorry, and you threw me in the stocks."

Arthur smacked him upside the head. "I should have you muck out the stables every day for what you did to my memory. You made me think I was going mad." He muttered.

Merlin perked up. "So it did work?!"

"Oh, shut up, Merlin."

As the boys continued their banter, Mason looked at me. "Here's the book. You are right, I suppose. But still, you were pretty entertaining to watch!" Mason scoffed. "You were like-" I opened the door for him to leave.

"Good_bye_, Mason," I interjected. He took the hint and smiled. I took the book from his hands and shut the door. This was such a crazy day and it wasn't even noon yet. I looked back at Merlin and Arthur battling it out with words. _"Mythical boys will be mythical boys_." I thought. That's when I noticed something hanging from Arthur's waist. Oh crap, did Arthur find his sword?

**A/N: TADA! Yes, it was kind of weird, but I needed to write it. Please review! Also, I'm at a loss of what should happen next. What do you guys want to happen?**


	5. A Knight of Surprises

**A/N: The next chapter is here! Thanks so much for all your amazingly awesome reviews! I'm so happy with this story and that you like it! Sorry that there hasn't been much Jen/Arthur action, but I hope that this will satisfy you until the next chapter.**

**A special thanks to NinjaJen for giving me an idea about Jen's roommate, Sarah!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or his scarf. I do not own Arthur or his pants. I only own Jen and Mason and a laptop to write about them on.**

I had completely lost track of the dates. Sarah was going to be coming back today, and I couldn't just kick out Merlin and Arthur. They had nowhere to go. Mason's dorm was full of his roommate's junk. I don't think Sarah would really appreciate me kicking her out, seeing as the dorm is half hers. That wouldn't be fair to her. I can't afford to get the boys a room of their own. Besides, they don't exist and aren't even supposed to be here. Things were going to get complicated I'm afraid.

I was so relieved that Merlin and Arthur were out with Mason right now, doing whatever magical and royal boys do in this weather. It was raining extremely heavily, darkening my dorm drastically. Mason told me that he was just going to take Arthur and Merlin out so they can experience our time a little better. He suggested that I should go, but I turned him down. Guys need their time together. Just before they left, I called, "No strip bars!"

Mason groaned playfully, and rolled his eyes. "Dang, you caught us." I thanked my lucky stars that Merlin and Arthur didn't know what a strip bar was. The three of them left, leaving me alone. I stayed this way for about an hour, before:

"Sarah!" I exclaim as she walks in through the door and out of the pouring rain. Sarah's blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she took the hood off. I took her soaking umbrella from her. My roommate grinned brightly as she hugged me tight. "How did your visit go?" I asked.

She let out a girly scream before starting her story. "Okay, so there's this new guy who moved onto my parent's street…" We sat on her bed as she told all about how she talked to Derek-the new guy-throughout her visit. He had sandy blonde hair that reached past his ears. He plays football and is twenty-one. "And I think he's interested!" Sarah squealed. At that moment, three laughing boys walked through the door. "Who's that?" she asked, eyeing Arthur who had something in his hand…

"Guys," I said, drawing their attention. Arthur and Merlin looked kind of embarrassed that they hadn't noticed us before. Mason just waved goodbye, still laughing all the way down the hall. "This is Sarah, my roommate.

She was playfully taken aback before pulling me into a hug. "She's my best-est friend in the world! What do you mean I'm just your roommate?!" I laughed as she pretended to cry her eyes out. The guys must have thought that she really was crying, because they looked really concerned. Sarah popped up with a smile on her face, shocking the boys. "So, who are you?"

"I'm-err- Merlin." He confessed.

"Arthur P-" the prince stopped himself. "I'm Arthur."

Sarah gave me an amused look. "No wonder they are your friends, Camelot freak." She teased. Merlin and Arthur exchanged looks. "Has anyone ever randomly come up to you and ask if you were a wizard?" Sarah asked Merlin. I knew that she was just making conversation, but the warlock looked worried. He shook his head slowly. "Hmm, I'm surprised. That happened to be me once. It was weird." She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm out of here."

I stood up. "You just got here." I pointed out. Sarah shrugged.

"I'm going to meet Derek. We're going fishing."

I raised an eyebrow. "It's raining, dork."

"It's supposed to clear up."

"You hate fishing."

"I know, but he's hot!" I cracked up.

"Fine, go to your hot Derek." I said pushing her out the door as she grabbed her bag. "Now, play nice." I warned with a grin. "Do you have your phone?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, _mom_," Sarah hugged me again and shut the door behind her.

I turned to look at the very amused and confused boys. "So, what are you guys up to?" I asked. Arthur looked at Merlin which was apparently some sort of hint. The warlock grinned widely and nodded. He headed towards the door.

"I am going to leave." He said and opened the door, stepping out. Merlin peaked his head back inside. "You two kids have fun!" he teased. Arthur picked up my raincoat and chucked it at him, missing his servant by inches. "Ha-ha, you missed." At that point, a pair of socks knocked him right in the face, wiping the grin off of his face. In a monotone voice he said, "That was uncalled for." And shut the door, leaving just Arthur and me alone.

I was about to ask what that was about when he put his finger over my lips. Arthur walked over to where he sat down the sack he bad brought in with him. Out came a single candle, a white table cloth, and a box of matches. He moved my little table to the middle of the room, throwing the table cloth over the oak. The candle was placed in the center whilst he lit it. The prince turned off the lights, making the only light in the room come from the dim candle. He pulled two chairs over to us and I sat down. He went back over the bag and brought out two foam boxes that had a delicious aroma coming from them. When he sat one down in front of me I opened it up quickly to see what was inside. Steam arose from cheesy, warm lasagna.

"I just wanted to give you a romantic lunch seeing as you've been helping us and all." He coughed out. I took the plastic fork he gave me and began eating. It warmed me up instantly. We both ate in silence for a bit. Arthur decided to break the quietness. "Jen," I looked up to look at him. The flame's light gave him a dark look. "From the-a-from the minute that I saw you, I knew that there was something about you. You were special; there was no doubt in my mind." My heart skipped a beat. "I beat myself up after I put you in the dungeons without a second thought. It was wrong, and I wanted to know more about you. I never expected that I would…" he stopped and looked over at the wall for a way to finish his sentence. Finally, he took in a deep breath and continued. "I never expected that I would fall in… love… with… you."

I gasped. This was not exactly what I had been expecting. He looked into my eyes to find any signs of fear or any other emotion I could possibly have. A smile played on my lips. I leaned over the table, moving the candle, and kissed him. He pulled back to look at me. "I'm guessing that was well received." I smiled with a nod and kissed him again.

We stood up hand in hand and I kept kissing him. Our lips crushed together that it was hard to breathe. I never thought it possible to feel this way about anyone. Guilt washed over me as I realized that I was in love with Gwen's future husband, but this time I didn't let it stop me. I continued to kiss him, and he kissed back. Everything in this world was right and perfect. Nothing could mess up this moment.

I thought too soon.

_Buzz_ went my phone. I groaned and pulled away from my prince. I opened and clicked the green button. "Hello?" I said into the mouth piece.

"Jen, it's your mother. We really miss you. How have things been going?" she asked in a hurry, happy to be talking to me. I looked over at Arthur just as mom said, "Are you interested in any guys over there?" I almost laughed, but held back.

"Yeah, mom, there is one guy in particular." I smiled at Arthur. He smiled back and kissed me lightly on the head. The two of us sat down on the bed. She began to ask questions about this guy in question. I held the phone so Arthur could hear what was being said as well. He loved my phone!

"Does he reach all of your high standards?" Mom teased. I let out a laugh, and I saw Arthur really tune into what I was about to say.

"Yeah, he's definitely King Arthur worthy." I answered as Arthur chuckled. Suddenly, the door burst open with shock plastered all over Merlin's face as if he'd seen a ghost. He stumbled inside and shut the door staring at the floor with a grave look in his eyes. They were no longer a friendly blue, but a terrified pit that was alert and paranoid.

"This isn't good." He said loud enough for my mom to hear.

"Is that him? He sounds British." said Mom.

"No, it's not. Hey, mom let me call you back." I didn't wait for an answer and hung up the phone. Arthur and I walked over to where Merlin found a chair. "What is it?" I asked. He looked directly into my eyes. I knew at that moment we were in trouble.

"I went back to that gypsy fortuneteller." He started. "There was this yellow ribbon all around the shop. This man stopped me from coming inside. I told him I needed to see her, but he said that she's been missing for days." He told us. I felt bad, but I didn't understand why he was so worried the way he was. "That's not all. I overheard these two men talking so I went to see what they were debating over." Merlin gulped. "They were holding a piece of parchment in their hands. Those men sat it down, and I was able to grab it when they weren't looking." Merlin handed me the paper.

In the center of the small piece of paper had the one word inscribed on it; _Emrys_.

_Back at Camelot…_

Morgana walked swiftly through the narrow hallways on her way to Gaius'. Uther was getting frustrated about Arthur's disappearance, and a frustrated Uther was a dangerous Uther. He had executed three accused sorcerers already. But whilst the king worried his crown off about his heir, Morgana was worried about Merlin.

She must inform Gaius about the truth about where Merlin went, for she witnessed their magical disappearance from her window. It was difficult to make out, but she was sure that they were alright… she hoped. And as if to reassure her, that night she dreamt of them arriving at Jen's chambers, then something about a gypsy woman, and finally… No, it can't be?! She shuttered at the very thought of that final scene she had foretold.

At long last she reached the physician's chambers. Without knocking, Morgana came in to see Gaius bent over his bench. He looked up from his green potion. "Morgana," he said startled. "I've concocted more sleeping draught for you, though I could have brought it to you."

Morgana smiled at how he thought that her visit was for a potion that didn't work. "No, I don't need more potion, Gaius. I'm here because of Merlin." As soon as the words escaped her lips, Gaius stiffened. "I'm sure you've been worried about him." she said quickly as the physician walked over to get an ingredient. "And perhaps you should be." She whispered.

"What was that?" he asked, not quite sure he heard her last bit right.

She smiled a friendly smile to hide her worry. "I said perhaps you are as worried as Uther, about Merlin I mean." He old man gave her a suspicious glare.

"I am very worried, though you haven't voiced any concern about Arthur or Merlin." That man and his suspicions! Morgana swallowed.

"Because I'm not," she admitted. Gaius was trustworthy. "Surely you know about Jen." Gaius looked up from his work and nodded. Morgana decided to continue, a little surprised that he was being so open about Jen's secret. "So you knew she was from the future?" she asked.

Gaius froze, mandrake root in hand. He looked at the ward, shock written all over his features. "I don't know what you're talking about. If you had a dream about this, then you need to start to keep in mind that some dreams are just dreams."

Anger erupted inside of her. "I'm not a child." She said through her teeth. "I know what a dream is and you know as well as I that my dreams are magic. Jen is from another time. Merlin and Arthur got sent to her. The druids don't have them, Jen does." Morgana observed Gaius' expressions. They changed from shock to worry to relief and finally settled back on worry.

"Morgana," he began but didn't know how to continue with his sentence.

"There's no need to deny it. I confronted Merlin about it and he was honest with me. It seems like he's the only person that is these days." She said accusatorily, although, she wondered if that were even true. "The point is, I know where Jen comes from and I know that Merlin and Arthur are safe."

Gaius took in a deep breath. "You're right. I'm sorry, Morgana, but it isn't wise to inform Uther of this."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot. I would never tell Uther where Arthur is. He'd try to hunt down Jen, and if she ever returned she would be executed on sight." At that point a guard entered the room.

"The king requires your presents in the great hall immediately." He says before ducking out and walks back down the hall.

"Come, we don't want to keep the king waiting." Gaius escorts Morgana out, heading towards Uther's newest mood.

--

"Any word from him yet?" Uther asked Sir Leon. The knights had been on a three week search for the Crown Prince of Camelot without any luck. The king was growing impatient. Why did it have to be that idiot manservant that his son got lost with?! If it was a knight, they would have made it out my now.

"I'm afraid not, sire. There has been no sign from Prince Arthur… or Merlin." He added for Gaius' sake. Morgana was eyeing the king carefully. "We have yet to come across the druid villages." Uther was about to blow off his handle. Sir Leon knew that there needed to be some good news to inform he king about. What the knight was about to say almost made Morgana's heart stop. "But we did capture a gypsy, My Lord."

**A/N: Muahahahaha! Double cliffhanger! There you have it folks! Please review, it would make my day! I love reviews, then again, what writer doesn't?**

**xoxoxo**


	6. Mission: Impossible IV Part 1

**A/N: This just in… a new chapter has come! Wow, thanks guys for all the fabulous reviews! I've got so many ideas for this story, who knows where it will go. It probably won't be as long as my last story (yeah, and just watch it be longer!) Well I shall stop babbling and leave you to read the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, Arthur, or the rest of the gang. I only own Jen, Mason, and Sarah.**

_Four Days Ago in Present Day…_

The gypsy woman paced her shop, still wondering about the customers who had been there the other day. That one with the back hair and outstanding ears was very interesting. Could he be who she thinks he may be? No, that's not possible. Just because his name was Merlin didn't mean a thing! Probably many people have that name. It's not that uncommon of a name, is it? Then again, his friend's name _was_ Arthur. But they were so young! Surely, they weren't the men who were legendary?!

It made no sense; then again, things in this world just don't make sense.

Then there was that girl. She doubted her gypsy magic, but obviously believed in other kinds of magic. This was a very strange combination indeed. The girl believed in those boys immensely, but doubted something strongly. She was fighting with herself and loosing, which was strange in itself.

The destiny that girl had in store for her was a windy one. Cybil wondered if she was going to go down the right path. She must not understand her importance to that blonde fellow. He couldn't be The Once and Future King. He was far too… alive! It was clear to her that the couple was going to have a rough time dealing with a certain issue, though she couldn't tell what it was exactly.

She must know more, she must find out more about that other fellow whose past she could see. That was very peculiar indeed. All three boys were around the same age. The American couldn't possibly be a descendant of the other boys. That would be impossible, unless…

Suddenly, there was a huge sound like something breaking. Cybil rushed to the other room in her shop to see all of her China plates smashed to bits on the floor. Standing above the broken pieces was a young boy wearing a green cloak. He had black hair and a kind smile on his undeveloped face. He stepped over the glass and over to the gypsy after placing a piece of paper down on a shelf.

"Hello, Cybil," he said kindly.

"W-who are you?" Cybil asked the boy. "Why are you here?"

"My people need your help." He took her hand. "We need you to do something for us."

"What do you want me to do? Who are you?" she asked again.

"I am from the past. For the sake of the future, you must help us. Please." he begged. Cybil looked deep into his green eyes and gave him a nod. He smiled and muttered a few inaudible words. All of a sudden, her shop was a blur, and after a few seconds she no longer saw her purple wallpaper, but trees and grass.

"Where are we?" Cybil asked without thinking. The boy looked up at her and began leading her towards a camp. This said camp was filled with faded tents that were propped up against trees, and the people were wearing the same kind of cloaks as this little boy was. "Where _are _we?" she asked again.

This time, the boy answered her. "We are in your past."

"So then would time stop in the future?" Cybil asked him. He shook his head.

"No, when I got to your home, I placed an enchanted amulet on the shelf, just in case." He explained vaguely.

Cybil was getting skeptic. "Just in case of what?"

The boy looked up at her again. "Emrys' power is in your time. It is very strong, strong enough that it might keep time going if I brought you back." He said. "But my people thought it might be safe for me to bring the amulet so that we are sure that time will resume."

They were walking into the camp. Some people stared, others smiled, and others just seemed confused. The boy led her into a tent that was a maroon color. On the inside, a tall man with hair so light it was almost white.

"Mordred," he greeted with a smile. This man's voice was very soothing. There was something about him that was calming. "I see you were successful in bringing Cybil here. Did you leave the parchment and amulet?" he asked this boy who was called Mordred. Mordred… that rang a bell…

"Yes, everything is set in place, Cameron." Mordred smiled quite proud of himself.

"That's very good. I'm proud of you." This Cameron smiled. He turned back to the gypsy. "I'm sure that all of this time travel magic is very confusing to you. Try not to think about it too much." he advised. "It can give you a head ache." Cameron chuckled as Cybil just stood there looking utterly confused. "Don't worry. We aren't going to hurt you."

Cybil wasn't sure if she should have come at all. This was so beyond her beliefs. Who was this Emrys person anyway? Could it have been one of the boys that were in her shop? The answer, she knew not! It seemed as if she knew nothing for certain these days. Everything was so confusing and there were too many questions without answers.

"Can you please just send me home?" her voice was shaky. Mordred took his hand in hers again.

"You can't go, not yet. We need you, Cybil." The way he said it made her want to punish herself for just suggesting leaving. "Please, walk with us." He begged. Cameron opened the tent flap for her. She walked out back into the camp. Mordred joined her by her side, still holding her hand. Cameron appeared on her other side. Were they trying to make sure she wasn't going to escape?

This was getting ridiculous. She needed to know at least _some_ answers! "Where are we going?" she demanded with a little power in her voice. "I need to know."

Mordred glanced at Cameron before answering. "We want to show you something." Cybil was about to ask another question, but Mordred beat her to it. "We want to show you what you'll be helping us with. You should know before doing anything." Satisfied with the answer she got, she walked on with the two strangers.

They walked for what seemed like forever before they reached the top of a hill. From there you could see a beautiful castle that almost sparkled in the sunlight. Now that was something you don't see every day. Mordred urged her closer, and she was forced to keep walking despite the pain her feet were giving her. She was only thirty-five, but she never was the hiking type.

Before long, they were right outside the castle walls, hiding in the bushes. There were guards dressed in red clothes and armor covering most of their bodies. There was one knight-or what she assumed was a knight-with medium length hair that had a scruffy look to him. He and three other knights behind him happened to look right at the three hiding behind the shrub. It wasn't a very thick plant and wasn't a very good hiding spot.

"There! Druids!" the scruffy one yelled. They all drew their swords and began running towards them.

Cybil began to panic, but Mordred and Cameron grabbed her hands and pulled her along. The knights were close behind them. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She was so focused on not being killed that she wasn't paying attention to where she was putting her feet. Her clumsiness kicked in, and she tripped over a rock, twisting her ankle. Just her luck…

Mordred tried to get Cybil to get up, but she was unable and he left, looking back at her every five seconds. Cameron was pulling him along, not wanting to be caught as well. The men rushed up to her, picking her up with extreme force, putting shackles around her wrists.

"Get up, druid." The scruffy knight ordered.

Cybil looked around frantically. "No, there's a mistake!" she began. "I'm not a druid! I'm a gypsy. I'm not even from this time!" her voice cracked. All of the knights started to glance at each other. It was obvious what they were thinking. "I'm not crazy." She insisted.

"Right, we're bringing you in." he told her, lifting her by the wrists. She reluctantly got up off the ground to find it very difficult to walk.

"What could I possibly have done?" she asked, really regretting her decision to go with that Mordred boy. The knight looked at her with an intense glare. How could she be hated so suddenly by someone she doesn't even know? Was that even possible?

"The use of magic is forbidden in Camelot." He explained looking straight ahead, not daring to meet the gypsy's harsh gaze. This couldn't be happening to her! Didn't he say Camelot, though? That means Arthur is king, and she could talk to him. He would sort things out straight away.

The knight pulled her into the castle and handed her to the guards at a huge door. He barged into the great hall. The doors closed behind him and she was unable to hear what was being said. More people filled in through the door, and she could hear rage coming from someone inside. It wasn't until a few minutes later did the doors open. The guard pushed her inside and passed her onto the knight who had detained her. She tried as hard as she could to stay on her feet, but her ankle was killing her. Cybil looked up from her feet to see a formally dressed man with a crown on his head sitting on a throne. This must be the king, hence the crown and loyal subjects that surrounded him.

The king stood up. "You will bow to your king, gypsy." His vile voice boomed. It sent shivers down her spine. His voice was cold, venomous. This man wasn't anything like the Arthur she had pictured. She began to wonder if the boy in her shop really was Arthur. But if he was Arthur, then who was this man standing before her?

Obediently, she bowed her head, worried that if she curtsied she would fall to the floor. He seemed satisfied enough and sat back down. He looked over me and at the knight. "Very good, Sir Leon," He complimented. "Have her put in the dungeons. She will be executed at dawn tomorrow." The king said lazily.

"Yes, King Uther." Sir Leon bowed and started to pull her out of the room. Cybil knew that if she wanted to live she must try something.

"I know about Arthur Pendragon!" she yelled with all of her might. The knight stopped trying to force her out and looked up at the king. This gave her more confidence and her voice was steadier when she spoke again. "I know of his whereabouts."

This Uther stood up again. "How do you know of this?" This time his voice wasn't _as_ cold.

"I saw him, sire. He came into my shop with a boy named Merlin." She told the king.

"Where is this shop? When did you see my son?" he boomed.

"I'm… not from this time, sire. I'm from the year 2010. He was there too, he and that Merlin." She looked to her right to see an elderly man dressed in blue shift uncomfortably.

Uther slammed his fist on his throne. "That explains it. That Merlin is the one who kidnapped him! Arthur's manservant is a _sorcerer_!"

_Back to the Future, Present Day…_

All of us were baffled by Merlin's discovery. I was starting to wonder if the druids were somehow involved. That Mordred was a very determined little boy. When he wants something he goes to great lengths to get it. The only question in my mind was how the fortuneteller fit into all of this? Maybe she was a trap, the bait in Mordred's plan to get me back there. This was just a theory, of course.

My mind was racing as I passed the paper to Arthur. He squinted at the neat scrawl, not knowing what to make of it. Merlin had his arms folded, thinking hard about what the parchment meant. He passed it back to his friend. The warlock took it in his hands and looked up at us.

"I think we need to go back to that shop." He said sternly. I looked at him with confusion. The cops probably had that place covered. There's no way in without being arrested. I glanced at Arthur. Surely he would think Merlin was being crazy as well.

"You're right." He agreed… with Merlin. My mouth fell open, but I understood that they didn't understand how impossible this was going to be. Not to mention illegal.

"That would be impossible to do. The cops have taped up that place, and besides, you wouldn't find anything there. Any evidence that they found at the shop would be in an evidence locker." I told them. They still looked at confused. "That's where they keep everything they find at a crime scene." Arthur started to head towards the door.

"Then let's go to this evidence locker." He insisted.

I shook my head. "You have to be a police officer or a detective to be able to have access to the evidence." He sighed and walked back over to my side. This was going to prove itself to be very difficult for us. Then again, was anything ever easy? I felt like I was the one raining on everyone's parade, which made me feel guilty. "We could use magic to get in. They don't have to know we were ever at the place." Smiles formed on the boys' faces as they exchanged looks. If only I had Piper's freezing power…

The door came crashing open.

We all jumped at the loud noise. In stepped Sarah with a frown on her usually chipper face. She shut the door behind her, kicking off her rain boots. Her hair was matted down with water and her mascara was starting to run. Over all, if I hadn't known who this girl was, I would have thought she was one of the depressed types. I rushed right over to her side.

"Hey, you're home early. What happened?" I patted her on the back. Arthur and Merlin looked at each other, not knowing how to handle a sad girl. Ignoring their whispers, I led Sarah to the bed. She sat down, taking her jacket off. "Sarah, talk to me."

She wiped her eyes. "He stood me up. I waited out in the rain for an hour," sniffle "waiting to see if he was coming. I called his cell phone and a girl answered. It was his fiancé!" Sarah grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it across the room, hitting the wall and landing on the floor with a thud.

"Fell better?" I asked with a giggle. She smiled and gave me a nod.

"So, what are you guys going to do?" she asked, obviously wanting to take her mind off of Derek. Merlin, Arthur, and I looked at each other. Now that Sarah was back it would be hard to go to the evidence locker. She would grow suspicious, and a suspicious Sarah was an annoying Sarah. She would ask so many questions until you finally broke. "You clearly are doing something, but you just won't tell me. Come on, please! I might be able to help." She begged. I took in a deep breath. Well, she didn't need to know the _whole_ story.

"We are going to the evidence locker because someone close to Merlin went missing, and the police won't tell him anything." I said quickly. She began to nod.

"That makes sense. See, I can help you." Sarah laughed. "I know where it is. My grandpa used to be a detective and took me there all the time." A smile played on my lips.

"That's great! Can he get us the evidence we need?" I asked. Merlin and Arthur were starting to perk up. Maybe this could work after all!

She shrugged. "Of course he can… if you want to perform a séance, that is." My high spirits just went tumbling down like a California mudslide! "But I can still help." She reminded me quickly. "There's a back door. The only bad part is that it's always watched by a security camera. The inside locker part is too, but we could find ways around that." She finished. "But Jen," she looked at me suspiciously, an evil grin on her face. "This would be committing a crime. Can you really do this, Miss Goody-Goody?" Sarah teased. She was right, though, I don't usually do anything wrong. Then again, she hadn't seen me in Camelot.

I sighed. "Yeah, I'm definitely sure we should be doing this. It's important. We just better not get caught." I grinned. Sarah patted me on the head.

"Hooray! Jen's finally going to do something dangerous for once in her little, sheltered life! I'm so proud." she giggled. "Aw, I'm such a bad influence." Sarah smiled. I gave her a hug and looked at the two smiling boys. "You got a plan, my friends?" she asked me.

I nodded. "We should wait until it is dark. That way no one will see us leaving." I turned to Merlin. "We need Mason. He may be able to _assist_ us as well." Sarah got up and walked over to her closet. She took out black boots, black jeans, a black sweater, and a black beanie cap. "What _are_ you doing, Sarah?" I asked.

She smiled. "You," she thrust the clothes at me. "should wear these. They are perfect for sneaking around in the dark." I took the clothes in my hand and an evil grin formed on my lips.

"Oh, we are so doing this!" Sarah clapped her hands and went over to turn on her iPod. The song _Suppermassive Black Hole_ by Muse came on, setting the mood perfectly. "Merlin," I called, tossing him my phone. "call Mason, please. Tell him what we're doing." He smiled and started dialing the number. Arthur was shocked by how his servant knew how to use my phone. Sarah took out more of her "spy clothing" and changed in the bathroom. After she came out, we all made up a plan, keeping Mason's part out… for now. After all the plan's faults were worked out, it was my turn to change. I stepped into the bathroom, taking off my shirt and slipping on the sweater. I stripped my Levi's off and put on the black ones Sarah lent to me. By the time I was finished putting on the clothes, I put on the cap. I looked like a total spy, or at least a teenage criminal.

When I came out of the bathroom, Mason was already there. He had given Arthur and Merlin some black wear as well. If someone walked in the room right now they would probably call the cops. We looked so awesome! I don't know if it was just the outfit or the thought of helping Merlin and Arthur that made me feel this way, but I was excited.

It was almost twilight now. Mason had already been briefed on the magical part of the plan we had made. It was time to put the plan into action. For some reason, I had missed these crazy plans Merlin, Arthur, and I put together.

At long last, it was dark enough and it was time to go. The five of us walked out of my building, careful not to look too suspicious, if that was possible. Once we got off campus, Sarah called for a taxi. Luckily the streets aren't as busy at night, so we got one easily. Mason, Sarah, and I slid in without thinking too much about it. Merlin and Arthur on the other hand were a little edgy about getting into the taxi.

"Come on, kids, I haven't got all night!" the driver complained. The boys slid in without another word. We had to make some room, but we all fit eventually. Sarah gave the man directions on where to go. He now started to complain about the distance he had to drive at this time of night. When I threw a few twenties over the seat he was more than happy to go where we asked!

Not thirty minutes later we reached our destination. The cabbie looked worried that I was going to ask for my change, but I didn't. I just told him to keep the engine running. Merlin and Arthur stumbled out of the car swearing on all of Camelot that they would never ride in one of those things again.

"I think I've faced more danger in battle." Arthur commented. Sarah looked at him strangely, which is when Arthur knew that it was time to shut his mouth. I giggled as he tried to explain what he meant by "battle."

"I… said cattle. Yes, it's a very dangerous job to do, herding cattle. I grew up on…a…farm…" Merlin and Mason tried to stifle a laugh but were unable to do so. I had to let out a laugh myself. Luckily, Sarah just shook her head and moved on. I patted Arthur on the shoulder, and he shrugged.

Sarah took off her cap and shook her head, letting her blonde, curly fall like a waterfall over her shoulders. She walked confidently towards the building. We stayed outside, waiting with bated breath. Sarah was a good actress; she could pull this off hands down. She pushed the doors open, releasing warm air that of which I invited to heat my body up. Merlin and Mason were on one side of the doors, whilst Arthur and I were on the other. I watched with intensity as she approached the young man that manned the locker.

At first, we couldn't hear a word that they were saying. I saw Mason's eyes flash gold after Merlin whispered something to him. Suddenly, we could hear every word very clearly. I listened closer, making sure to catch every word.

"…see I have this problem." Sarah said after the man probably asked "how may I help you?" She laughed nervously.

"Are you sure she can do this?" Arthur asked, seeing her anxiety.

I smiled. "Just watch. It's all part of the act." We turned back to Sarah.

"My uncle is a detective. He followed my grandfather's example, and… well you don't need to know all of that." She laughed again. The man was starting to get annoyed. She was doing great! "You see, I was looking around in his house when I was staying there. I kind of glanced at this case file, and… lost it. When I told him, he was pretty mad." The man gave her a disbelieving look. "Ok, so I didn't tell him! Please, I just need the file number." She finished the first part of the act.

"I'm not allowed to disclose that information, miss." He said with a little guilt in his voice. That's when Sarah kicked it up a notch.

She put on a puppy dog-flirtatious face that most guys couldn't resist. She twirled her hair between her fingers, and pursed her lips slightly. "Please, no one will even know about this whole mess if you just give me a simple, little number." She playfully begged. "You would save me from a lot of trouble." She leaned farther other the counter and started to whisper. "I'll give you a fair exchange; you give me the file number I need, and I'll go out to dinner with you."

The guy stumbled a little. "O-okay, w-what's the case?" he tried to ask a little more manly. It didn't work.

"It was something about a woman going missing really recently. It was a gypsy woman, I think the file said. A shop owner called it in after she didn't show up to her fortunetelling place." She informed him. He tripped over his feet whilst walking to the back room to get the file. The guy came back a while later caring a piece of paper. It must have had the number on it because Sarah thanked him. She was about to walk out when he stopped her. I knew that we couldn't get away with this! He wasn't going to let her go, was he?!

"Wait, I need your number." He reminded her with a smile. Sarah scowled at us and turned back around to face the guy. Mason and I broke out laughing.

"Right, I'm sorry." She lied. He gave her a pen and paper. "And thank you for having paper and a writing utensil in such a convenient spot." She said sarcastically. Thankfully, he didn't hear the sarcasm in her voice. She wrote down her number, gave him one last smile, and left before he could say anything else. Sarah came rushing out of the building and looked at all of us with a menacing glare that would make the Great Dragon put his tail between his legs. "Oh, you guys _so_ owe me!" All four of us started laughing, but I couldn't help but be glad that I wasn't her right now. "Why couldn't you have done it?" she asked me.

"Simple," I answered looking up at Arthur. "I already have a boyfriend." Arthur looked quite proud of my statement. Sarah's mouth hit the ground.

"And you have been dating him for… how long now?" she folded her arms, disappointed that I hadn't told her sooner.

I looked up at Arthur. "I'd say about two thousand years, don't you think, Arthur?" I said honestly. He nodded, giving it some thought.

"Wow, Arthur, you are old!" Merlin teased, earning him a slap on the back of the head from the prince.

Sarah just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Yeah, yeah, fine but I will find out one way or another!" she said in a poor attempt at a Dracula impression. I just laughed and hugged her. Arthur shook his head at his servant, and Mason whispered;

"Hey, Merlin, you _are_ the one with the beard you know?"

After we all finished joking around, it was break-in time. Let the magic begin.

**A/N: Not too much of a cliffhanger this time. Please tell me what you think! Reviews are loved!**


	7. Mission: Impossible IV Part 2

**A/N: Please, let me start out by saying sorry for the long delay. I was going to update yesterday, but seeing as my house almost got destroyed, my mind wasn't really focused on writing. I've also had tons of essays to do and I had to bake some cookies for Spanish. It seems that at the end of the school year they pile on the homework, at least at my school. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter, so please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Merlin or any of its characters.**

Sarah handed me the flip of paper that the guy had written the case number on. We headed back towards the back door. Suddenly, Sarah grabbed my arm. All three of us stopped to look at her. She pointed to the camera that was cleverly hidden in darkness. It was facing the door.

At that moment, Merlin whispered something into Mason's ear. Mason gave Merlin a nod and bent down to tell me.

"Merlin just gave me a spell that can make the camera stop working for about five minutes. We need to keep Sarah distracted." He muttered through my black beanie. I nodded and looked back at my confused best friend. "Hurry,"

"Sarah," I whispered. "Can you go and see whether or not the cab is still here?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes. "It's so obvious you're hiding something!" But she went anyway.

Once she was out of sight, Mason whispered the incantation. His eyes flashed bright gold and there was a pop coming from the camera. "We have five minutes. Let's go." Arthur held the door open for me, and I slipped in, case number tightly in my left hand. Mason's eyes flashed gold again. The camera inside clicked. "Jen, what's the number?" Mason asked once we were all inside the locker. I showed him the paper.

I looked all around the locker. It was full of boxes and racks of folders with numbers written on them. From floor to ceiling, the place was stacked tall. "Can't you use magic to get the file?" I asked. This was going to take more than five minutes.

Mason looked at Merlin. "I don't know any spells for that." Merlin confessed.

"Really, Merlin?" the prince asked doubtfully.

He shrugged. "What? I don't have a spell for every little situation we get into!"

"Boys," I interjected. "Can we look for the case?"

"Sorry," they said in unison.

I looked inside boxes, ignoring the ones with dust covering them. This wasn't a cold case, though if the druids were involved, it might soon become one. Arthur helped me get the boxes from up top down. I checked my phone. We only had one minute left.

"And you're sure you can't use magic?" I asked quickly. "Because, we have less than a minute,"

"Nope, I can't do that, but I think I found the case." Mason said with a smile. We rushed over to him. He had a huge plastic box in his arms. He sat it down and I opened it. There yellow paper sacks that were labeled. Merlin reached inside and took out an amulet of some kind.

"…tired of stupid kids." Voices rang. Mason, Merlin, Arthur, and I exchanged panicked looks. Five minutes was definitely up! Merlin pocketed the amulet. I grabbed the paperwork, whilst Mason sealed the box back up.

Arthur silently went towards the door we came in from. He opened it just enough to be able see out of it. The prince shut it quickly. "There are two guards coming. They have this black thing with a yellow tip on them in their hands. Is that some form of weapon?"

Mason and I exchanged looks. "Taser guns," we shrilled.

"Okay, we really need to get out of here!" Mason said his voice cracking. He turned to Merlin. "Is there any spell that can transport you somewhere else?" Merlin bit his lip. "Or freezing time? _Something_ that can get us out of this mess?" he asked again.

"Mason, this isn't Charmed." I joked. He sighed and smiled slightly.

"There is one spell…" Merlin said quietly.

"Good, let's use it!" Arthur urged. We all could now hear the guards coming closer. The sound of their voices increased. "Come on, we don't have all night, Merlin." He hissed. The warlock glanced at all of us nervously. "Don't tell us you've forgotten it? The one time you forget-"

Merlin put up his hands to stop him. "No, Arthur, I know the spell. It's just that it's very advanced magic. He's not ready to do it…" Arthur gave him a glare.

Mason spoke up. "I guess we'll find out if I am or not. Merlin, what's the spell?"

The door handle was beginning to wiggle. "Just focus on your magic. Say 'sciphlæst,'" he instructed. The door was almost open now. Merlin grabbed Mason's hand, followed by Arthur's, followed by mine. We all stood in a circle, waiting to be-hopefully-transported out of here.

Mason took in a deep breath. He shut his eyes. _"Sciphlæst" _My grip on Arthur's hand tightened as I was preparing myself for the magical trip. Mason had to be ready for this. He was Merlin and Arthur's descendent after all. I had to remind myself that we weren't going to go to jail. The three of us always escaped these kinds of situations back in Camelot. I shut my eyes and waited… and waited…

Suddenly, the door squeaked open. "Hey!"One man yelled. My eyes flashed open to see two guards in blue jumpsuits with tasors pointed at us. This was it. The spell hadn't worked. Merlin had been right. "Down on the floor, all of you!" he ordered. Arthur rolled his eyes, not liking being ordered around. I could hear Mason's breathing quicken.

"_Sciphlæst" _he tried again. The men exchanged strange glances at each other, not lowering their weapons. I looked at Mason, swearing on every fabric of my being that if we got arrested, and Mordred was somehow involved with the Gypsy's disappearance, I was going to give that kid one hell of a time out!

The biggest guard came waddling over and handcuffed Mason after forcing him to break out circle. My hand was yanked out from his and Arthur's and put into cold, metal cuffs. The guard was starting to pat me down when I glanced at Merlin. The amulet was sticking out obviously from his front pocket. The guards would surely find this stolen piece of evidence and of course take it back. They just couldn't do that! We needed to know what the amulet meant and its origin. I looked over at Mason who was being patted down now by the other guard.

He looked over at me, and I nodded my head towards Merlin's bulging pocket. He concentrated and his eyes flashed gold again for the third time tonight. I could never get over that! When I looked back at Merlin, the bulge was gone. Arthur scooted closer to me.

"So he can transport a necklace, but not us." He murmurs into my ear. I stifle a giggle.

"No talking." The guard who patted me said. He then moved onto Arthur. It was clear that he also didn't like being looked over by complete strangers but didn't say a word. I could understand how he was feeling. It has to suck to be a prince and not be able to act like one. As long as he doesn't act like a prat when he's king, Camelot is in such good hands.

After the guards were sure we weren't armed, they pushed us out the door and into a cop car that must have been called when the cameras died. The four of us were crammed inside. I was squashed against a door and Arthur, which I was perfectly fine with. But the being arrest part, not so much, even if it was with my two medieval heroes.

"Are they taking us to the dungeons?" I heard Merlin whisper to Arthur. The prince shrugged and they looked at me.

I slammed by head back softly, sighing. "No," I groaned. "They're taking us to a holding cell, probably. They are going to want to call our parents." Believe it or not, I'd rather be locked up by Uther and his men than these cops. One reason being, Camelot guards can't call your parents who can punish you and loose all trust in you whatsoever.

Ugh, this is going to be a _long_ night. Mason leaned out to face all three of us and whispered, "Where's Sarah?" I gulped. Had she been caught too, or had she hidden? I hoped for her sake that the cops wouldn't find her. I hate to get people in trouble.

The policeman slipped into the driver's seat and started the car, blue and red lights flashing, illuminating the dark night. Arthur leaned in to whisper in my ear again.

"Now do you wish I had my sword?" he asked with a dazzling smile. I bit my lip and nodded twice. He sat back against his seat uncomfortably. "That's what I thought." The car began to move slowly, backing out of the parking lot. "We wouldn't be in this if you hadn't lost your magic, Merlin." He hissed.

Merlin's blue eyes went wide. "So this is _my_ fault?! If you weren't such a clotpole we would never have had to even come to this locker in the first place!" he whispered back, offended. I put my head in my hands, silently laughing at their ongoing banter.

"If you'd have trained Mason better-"

"That's enough!" the cop yelled at us. Arthur shut his mouth, silently cursing at the 'disrespectful buffoon.' "Jimmy, tell 'em their Miranda Rights when we get to the station." The cop told to his partner sitting next to him. "We're almost there now, so shut up until then, why don't you? Stupid kids…" he had a very strong east accent.

"Ted, weren't we supposed to read them their Rights _before_ we shoved them into the car?" Jimmy asked.

Ted scowled. "We'll read it to 'em when we reach the place. What's the difference from there to the station? Ten minutes? It's past midnight, so I forgot one thing!" he scoffed off. Ted waved it off and sat back as they pulled into the station. The car was parked crookedly and Ted got out opening up the doors for us.

We were forced into the station and put in a holding cell that was no bigger than a bathroom in a master bedroom. Luckily, the four of us were the only ones who were in the cell. Ted sat down at the desk and instructed to "read 'em our precious Miranda Rights."

Poor Jimmy sighed and faced us, trying to look as professional as possible. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?" Mason and I nodded. Mason nudged Merlin and Arthur in the sides, telling them to say yes as well.

"Now," Ted said. "We need to call yer parents. Phone numbers," he ordered, looking at Arthur. I was worried about what he might say to the cop, which could cause him to get into even more trouble. "Well, you got a number or what?"

"I'm sorry; I do not have a _phone number_." He said holding his head high. I smiled a little. At least it wasn't a lie.

Ted groaned. "Oh, great, a British kid," he scowled. "Any of you other kids British too?" I looked up at Merlin. He raised his hand nervously. "What the hell you doing 'ere?" Merlin and Arthur just shrugged and Ted rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Jimmy…"

"If you are not a United States citizen, you may contact your country's consulate prior to any questioning." Jimmy said to the boys. I tried very hard to not laugh. As soon as he said this, the picture of Arthur and Merlin talking on the phone to King Uther back at Camelot about wanting bail money made me crack up laughing. Jimmy looked at me. "Is there a problem, miss?" he asked. I took in a few deep breaths and nodded.

"Now, I need those numbers, and no being smart with me this time." Ted warned. Great, this was just _dandy_!

_Back at Camelot…_

Cybil was shocked by what this Uther had just said. "Excuse me, sire, but didn't you already _know_ about Merlin?" she asked, a little confused by this… strange and different Camelot. Uther glared down at her with hatred in his eyes. Did this man have a good side?

"I thought of him as a useful ally in the ongoing war against magic. He obviously tricked us all, including myself and my son." He defended.

"You see, where I come from, everyone knows about Merlin's magic." She says without thinking.

Uther sat up in his throne. "Elaborate, what do you know of Camelot? If you speak the truth and really are from the future, you will tell me everything I want to know, or you will die." That was quite the ultimatum. Cybil looked over at the man dressed in the blue robes again. He was breathing rather rapidly, and she was starting to wonder if he was going to have a heart attack. This man seemed to be nervous about something, like he knew something everyone else didn't.

The woman who was sitting next to the king rolled her eyes. "My Lord, honestly, if she is telling the truth then surely she shouldn't tell us anything she knows." She looked Cybil straight in the eye. "Besides, Merlin isn't a sorcerer. That's insanity. He's the nicest person I've ever met." Her green eyes fumed.

"Morgana, you will hold your tongue." Uther ordered. Morgana seemed to be the only one in this room who wasn't afraid of him. She rolled her eyes again and sat up straight, tuned into the conversation. "Now, gypsy, you will tell me what you know about the sorcerer, Merlin."

**A/N: Kind of short, I know. Sorry about that. The next chapter will hopefully be longer and I'll try to update sooner. Please review! They really, really are the world to me and just make my day special, no joke there!**


	8. The Impossible

**A/N: Thank you, WanderingChild96 so much for reviewing! I hope everyone likes the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin.**

I was just about to die of shame when the man asked me for my number when I heard a familiar voice. My head shot up from the floor to see Sarah standing there with her hands on her hips, looking very annoyed. My heart was beating like a drum as I realized that she hadn't been caught.

"No, you don't need to wake up their parents in the middle of the night. That _so_ won't be necessary." She chimed. The men looked at her with amazement.

"Are you here to post their bail?" Jimmy asked.

"That I am not. They were working under orders." Sarah lied, though it looked very truthful the way she was talking.

"Whose orders, Miss?" he asked.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Detective Constable Timothy McGee. He is very well known and very stubborn. He is also known for his bad temper. Now, do you really want to be the ones who make him angry? You see, if he wants to, he can make sure the only law you'll be defending is the laws of mopping. Do you understand me?" When the performance was done, I almost wanted to clap… and laugh. Oh, McGee would like that! The looks of Ted and Jimmy's faces were priceless and indescribable!

"O-of course not, Miss." They both said. Jimmy unlocked the metal door that held us inside. I walked out of the cell first, trying to act more annoyed than worried. Arthur, Mason, and Merlin followed close behind. We made it to the door before I turned around.

"Have a good night, gentlemen." I said coolly and walked out without looking back. Once Merlin shut the door and we were out of earshot, I let out a huge sigh of relief and fear. "That was too close." I panted.

"You're telling me. Who knows what my parents would do if they found out I went to jail?" Mason said. "Plus, those guys could have been in a lot of trouble if we hadn't made it out of there." He added.

"And I thought the Camelot guards were scary…" Merlin trailed off.

Arthur looked at Sarah with a hint of curiosity and amazement in his eyes. "How do you keep coming up with these stories, and make them sound so believable?"

"It's a gift!" Sarah said happily, flipping her hair back. "I know the perfect place to hide out for a while."

"You do know that classes start back up soon, don't you?" I asked.

"Of course I do, silly! But for now, we can all stay in the comfort of a… better place than the dorms- on one condition." She proposed. I looked at her skeptically. "Oh, come on! I got you into the locker _and_ out of jail. You owe me an explanation of some kind." I knew she was right, but I didn't know if it was a good idea to tell her the whole truth.

"Uh, Sarah," Mason said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, you wouldn't believe me if we told you!" he chuckled darkly, which only made her even more intrigued.

"Try me," she challenged.

Merlin took in a deep breath. "Well, it's like this; we, uh, Arthur and I, you see, we… Arthur, you explain."

The prince rolled his beautiful blue eyes. "Sarah, when Merlin and I said that we were Arthur and Merlin, we really are _Arthur_ and _Merlin_ of Camelot." He explained in the clip notes version. Sarah looked at me disbelievingly.

She pointed at Merlin. "Isn't he suppose to have-"

"I do not have a beard!" Merlin exclaimed.

I giggled. "It's the truth; Merlin isn't old and Arthur isn't king. This is a really long story, one of which I will explain later." I said slowly. Sarah's mouth was open slightly, like she was processing everything we had just told her. "Short story, Merlin lost his magic coming here. Now, Mason has it because he's Merlin and Arthur's decedents."

She cocked her head to the side. It looked like she was taking us all seriously. "Wow," she said. A smile broke out on her face. "I hang out with crazy people." She laughed. "You honestly expect me to believe that you guys are Merlin and Arthur?" she cracked up.

"Well, we were hoping." Merlin mumbled to Arthur.

"Whatever, we just need to get out of here." Sarah said, putting her hands on her hips.

We walked a while until we found the taxi who, to our surprise, was still waiting for us. The five of us slipped into the car like before and Sarah told the driver a foreign street address that I had never heard before. When I asked her about it, she told me that it was her parent's house. They were out of town for a week and left her a key.

I had closed my eyes for most of the trip. It took us almost an hour to get to her house. When the car pulled up into the driveway, my mouth hit the floor. The place was huge with fountains in the front lawn. It had to be at least three-stories high. I looked at the neighbor houses only to find that they had the same thing.

"You _live_ here?" it was my turn to not believe something. She nodded happily and got out of the car. She paid the driver and he left. I looked at Arthur. He was looking at the house, smiling. "More like the castle back home?" I teased. He kissed my head and we went towards the door.

"I don't suppose you have a butler?" Mason asked, astonished by the size of the house.

Sarah seemed taken aback. "Yes, we do, but whenever my parents go on vacation they give him the time off." She explained. "Well, go on in!" she rushed after she unlocked the door.

Mason went inside first, sliding on the marble-like floors. "This place is awesome!" he exclaimed.

Sarah put her hands on her hips, smiling. "Yes, well, your room will be the first one on the second floor. _King_ Arthur's will be to the right of Mason's, and _Merlin's_ will be to the right of Arthur's." she said pointing to the stairs. "Every room has a bathroom on that floor, so knock yourself out." She teased. "Now," she pointed at me. "You are going to love this!" she said grabbing me hand and pulling me up the stairs. We stopped at a wooden door that was elegantly carved. "This, my friend, is your room." The door opened to show a room that had a huge four-poster bed. The bathroom door was open to reveal the biggest tub I had ever seen. There were French doors on the other side of the room. "Oh," she said, seeing that I noticed the doors. She took my hand again and rushed me over to them, opening the glass doors. It led out to a balcony that had a great view of the backyard. There was a pool in the middle of the yard and bright gardens on each side with one fountain each. It was simply beautiful.

I looked back at Sarah. "You never told me you were rich." I accused.

She shrugged. "I'm not, my parents are." She laughed. "I thought you would want this room, seeing as it always reminded me of _Romeo and Juliet_, with the whole balcony thing and whatnot." Sarah gestured towards the doors.

"This place is amazing!" I exclaimed. She giggled.

"Are you tired at all?" she asked. I remembered when I had my eyes closed in the car, but that same feeling was gone.

"Not really." I confessed.

"Good, me neither!" Sarah said walking briskly back inside. "I have an idea!" She left the room only to return a few minutes later with her arms full of bags of popcorn, pop, and loads of chocolate sweets! I helped her carry it all into the room and dump it on the bed. "I'm up for a Leonardo DiCaprio marathon. How about you?" she asked. I nodded eagerly. She opened a huge wooden cabinet and pulled out _Romeo and Juliet_ and _Titanic_. She paused. "Oh, what the heck," and out came _The Notebook_ as well. "I'm in a love story mood and I know you are!"

The two of us changed into some pajamas that she had in the drawers. I was in a dark blue t-shirt and grey sweat pants, whereas she was dressed in a hot pink tank with light pink, fuzzy pants. I popped in _Titanic_ and plopped back on the bed, digging into the popcorn. We were just about to watch Rose try and jump off the back of the ship when Sarah looked at me.

"Jen," she said. I ripped my eyes from the flat screen to look at her. "Who are Arthur, Mason, and Merlin, _really_?" she asked. I gulped. "The truth, Jenny, not the lie,"

I took in a deep breath, knowing the best place to start was at the beginning. I told her about wishing on that star and having that weird dream, then of how I had woken up in this strange place. I told her all about my confusion with this Camelot we never knew existed, how I was thrown off course when I learned Arthur wasn't king and Merlin wasn't old. I even included the druids and Mordred and Gwen. I tried to tell her everything that I could remember, which was pretty much everything. Then I dove into the bit where Merlin sent me back and time had appeared to have frozen for the period I was gone.

After I finished the whole story, I waited for her to respond. What I got was nothing that I had expected.

Her eyes widened and she took in a deep breath, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Jen," she said slowly. "I know that you are my best friend and that you are horrible at lying. Keeping that in mind, I also know that you're great at making up stories. And because you know that I am very skeptical, you will know that I need Mason to do some magic for me for proof." she smiled.

I giggled. "Of course, first thing tomorrow morning," I promised with a reassuring smile. She hugged me and looked back at the TV. I pulled out more popcorn and settled back on my pillow, enjoying the movie. She took it better than I thought she would, even if she doesn't fully believe it just yet. I smiled to myself.

"_So you wanna go to a real party?"_ Jack in the movie asked. The Irish music below deck started playing and all of the passengers were dancing. The screen flashed to Rose who was watching Jack dance with Cora. _"I'm gonna dance with her now, alright? Come on,"_ Jack pulled Rose onto the dance floor. Sarah and I got up off the bed and began jumping around the room like the people in the movie.

The two of us giggled and squealed and jumped mercilessly, not noticing that we spilled some of the popcorn or that the door was partially open.

After that scene was over, we were exhausted and out of breath. We sank back onto the bed only, to our sheer embarrassment, to hear clapping coming from the direction of the door. Our faces turned bright pink as we saw Arthur and Merlin walk into the room grinning. I thanked my lucky stars that they didn't know what either a camera or what Youtube was.

"Very entertaining, ladies," Arthur complemented with a smile. Merlin coughed back a laugh and came to sit next to us. Arthur looked at our screen before he too came to sit with me. "What are you watching?" he asked just as Cal flipped the table over, spilling everything onto the floor.

"_Titanic_," Sarah and I answered together.

"Can they hear us?" Arthur asked, pointing to the screen after I cursed Rose's horrible fiancé. I shook my head. Sarah looked back and forth from me to Arthur, confused as to how he didn't know about movies and TV, obviously not taking into account the adventure I had just told her. Of course, to her that adventure was just a story I had made up… that is until Mason proves to her I'm not lying.

Merlin watched the movie for a few seconds before asking Sarah, "What's it about?"

Sarah went wide-eyed at the young warlock, shocked that he didn't know the infamous story of the doomed ship. She looked at me. "Jenny, I think I believe you know." She said simply. "No joke," I wasn't exactly sure how that showed her I wasn't telling her a story, but it did somehow.

"I take it you told her?" Merlin asked.

"That I did." I nodded, leaning into Arthur a little more. He positioned himself on the bed so that he could have his arm around me and still be able to watch the rest of the movie. Sarah smiled at me and sat next to us. Merlin shrugged and laid down next to Sarah, picking up some chocolate.

"You guys do realize that I have about a zillion questions, right?" Sarah spoke up. The three of us burst out laughing. She threw a piece of popcorn at me. "I am serious. So where's Mason?" she asked quickly, ignoring my laughter. I understood how she was feeling, though.

"Oh, does someone have a little crush on Mason?" I asked playfully. She blushed, something I took as a yes.

"He's in his room practicing a few spells." Merlin said blankly, intrigued by the TV.

Arthur looked down at me and mouthed 'Crush?'

"It means liking someone. Sarah doesn't want to actually _crush_ Mason; she is only crushing _on_ him." I explained then paused. "If that made sense," Arthur chuckled and squeezed my hand.

After that, we all sat back and watched the movie, partly due as to we didn't know what else to say. The boys were fascinated by the fact that the actors couldn't hear us talking when we all are "right here talking about them." Merlin asked many times if this was created by some kind of magic. Sarah laughed many times at these comments and Benjamin Franklin had to be explained to them.

"_I'm flying, Jack!"_ Rose exclaimed as Jack held out her arms and sang into her ear.

Their love story was unfolding and coming to a quick end. As the two men in the crow's nest were watching Rose and Jack kiss, Sarah and I were yelling at them.

"Watch the ocean!" we kept saying as if we were able to change the ending by letting them know what to do. We groaned when they didn't listen to us and the ship hit the iceberg. Rose and Jack stumbled back to avoid the ice that landed on the deck.

I squeezed Arthur's hand tighter as Fabrizio jumped down from his bed as the water was washing in. I knew what was going to happen next and I didn't want to think of it. As Rose approached Mr. Andrews about the chaos on the deck, I bit my lip.

"_Titanic will founder."_ Mr. Andrews said to the captain, sweat covering his worried face.

"_But the ship can't sink!"_ Ismay insisted, perplexed.

"_She's made of iron, sir, I assure you she can… and she will. It is a mathematical certainty."_ Andrews finished.

Arthur leaned in close to me. "I don't understand. I thought you said that this ship was unsinkable." He whispered.

I laughed humorlessly. "That shows you the ignorance of man, by calling a huge ship unsinkable."

"Yup, Cal's the one who cursed them, anyways. 'God himself could not sink this ship.'" Sarah said doing a bad impression. "What was he thinking?"

I shrugged and watched as the tragedy unfolded bit by bit until the whole ship was at the bottom of the Atlantic. Everyone was in the water, screaming for help, for air, for a boat to come back for them. Slowly, the screams died down and Rose was forced to part with Jack forever, letting go of his cold, limp hand.

Tears came streaming down my cheek and Arthur wiped them away. The movie ended and Sarah and I both reached for some tissues, receiving laughs from the boys. We glared at them.

Merlin suddenly went stiff. He put both hands on his head, like trying to not hear something very loud and annoying. I tapped Arthur on the shoulder, gesturing towards the suffering warlock. Quickly, all the attention was on our raven-haired friend.

"That's not possible." We heard him groan.

I got up off the bed and ran towards the door. "M-Mason," I called down the hall. Immediately, a mop of black hair peaked out a door. "Can you come here for a minute?" I looked back at Merlin who was looking very confused.

"What's going on?" Sarah whispered to me.

"No idea," I said simply, whispering back to her. Thankfully, Mason entered the room just then.

"So it's not normal for Merlin to do this?" she whispered. I shook my head, worried about him.

Mason went over to him. "What is it?" he asked, just as nervous, though a little fascinated. Suddenly, he put his hands up to his head as well. "Gee, what _is_ that? _Who_ is that?" Mason exclaimed. He looked over at Merlin. "Do you hear this?" he asked. Merlin didn't look up. He just sat there, concentrating hard on something. I glanced at Arthur, making sure he wasn't going to be next to hear… something. Wait! No! It can't be possible. It is _not_-

Merlin's head shot up to look at us. "The Great Dragon,"

_Back at Camelot…_

The gypsy woman was lying down in a cell corner. She had told the king of Arthur's rein. That he approved of magic. This had earned her a few nights in a cell. Uther had insisted that his son would never let magic back into the kingdom. He also didn't want to believe that Merlin wasn't bad. Cybil began to _really_ wish she hadn't come with that druid boy.

"_You are doubting your decisions, as well you should."_ An old, wise voice said, though it sounded as if it was coming from her head.

"Hello?" she asked aloud. The guards glanced at her before looking forward again. They probably thought she was going crazy or something. She never thought she would be so grateful to see any kind of toilet, even a port-a-potty would do! This cell must be driving her mad. There aren't voices in her head.

"_Being imprisoned can drive one mad, though mad you are not."_ There was that voice again!

And why would she doubt her decisions…? Unless…

"_That is right, gypsy. What you have done may bring the downfall of your life."_ It said darkly, a vile tone to it.

Frankly, she only had two options; talk aloud and be considered crazy. Then again, she could plead mentally insane and get off the hook!

"_You are wrong! Uther shows no mercy."_

Okay then, option two; think to this voice in her head, because doing that seems to be working for her. Well here goes nothing! _"Who are you? How have I brought an end to my life?"_ she asked the voice.

"_Who I am does not matter, what does is that you have changed the future. You have told Uther Pendragon of Merlin's magic. Once the young warlock returns, he will receive a fate worse than death. As for the young Pendragon, destinies will be rewritten and annulled."_

This was crazy! What on earth was this voice telling her?

"_I am saying that because of your mistake, nothing shall be what is meant to!"_

These riddles were making her head pound. Surely, nothing in the future had changed just because she told Uther of Merlin's magic. In a few years, everyone will know about it anyway. It isn't a big deal-

"_Perhaps not to you, but to those who live here, we are all damned! You have no idea what you have done."_

**A/N: A longer chapter, as promised. Please review, guys! It would really make me happy! Hugs to all of those that do review! Just click the little "Review" button with your mouse… *puppy-dog face***


	9. Heading Back With Uncertainty

**A/N: Thanks, guys, so much for reviewing! School is out for me so I will hopefully be able to update faster than I have been. I've had this chapter in my head for days, but have been unable to write it until now because of all the studying I've had to do. I hope that all that work will pay off. Anywho, enough of my mindless babble, and enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is not mine, nor ever shall be unfortunately, although, Arthur may be a different story… (Evil laugh)**

"The Great _What_?" Arthur exclaimed.

The atmosphere immediately felt very odd. Everyone had a different expression on their face; Sarah's was blank, Arthur's was confusion, Mason's was worry, mine was pure shock, but Merlin's expression was strong, wise. He may not know why the Great Dragon was contacting him or know how, but he stayed calm.

"What does he want?" I choked out.

Merlin shook his head, keeping his eyes low. "I'm not sure. He's talking in riddles again." The warlock fell silent again, concentrating on what the dragon was telling him. I glanced over at Mason who was covering both his ears.

"Guys, what is going on?" Sarah asked. "I know I'm kind of new to all this magic stuff, but I'm pretty sure this isn't normal. And seeing as Jen is worried, that makes me worried." She spoke up. Arthur leaned in to get a better look at Merlin. His eyes were closed, blocking out the morning light that was streaming in through the curtains.

The warlock didn't look up, but he spoke to us in a dark tone. "We need to speak with him immediately."

"Where is he?" Arthur asked before whispering in my ear, "Is he talking about the dragon that my father imprisoned?" I looked at him and nodded. His eyes disappeared under his blonde hair, looking at the ground.

"He is…" Merlin turned his head as if in pain.

"Are you even still alive?" I heard Mason mutter. He removed his hands from his ears and looked at Merlin. "Is he saying what I think he's saying?" he asked the warlock sitting beside him.

Merlin's blue eyes opened slowly. "We need to get to a land called Britain as fast as we possibly can." My eyes widened. All I could feel was shock. Was it really possible that the Great Dragon was really alive even to this day? Surely, if he was alive, someone would have noticed him by now. A sixty foot dragon is kind of hard to miss, even in these times.

"Britain," I repeated. Sarah and I exchanged looks. Merlin nodded, confused by our sense of alarm.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm up for a trip to Europe. Hell, maybe if we find Camelot then Warren will give us some extra credit!" she chimed cheerfully. I snorted a laugh. Mason chuckled and shook his head at Sarah's silliness. "What? Oh, my, gosh! What if we found the sword that Arthur-?"

"Alright," I interrupted quickly before she gave away too much. "He doesn't need to hear everything, Sarah." I warned. "He's not king yet."

She shrugged it off and stood up. "Well, we still have a problem."

"What's that?" Merlin asked.

Then I knew what problem Sarah was talking about. We'd have to fly to Britain. We'd have to have passports… By the look on Mason's face, he understood what she was talking about too. The three of us thought about the problem for a few more seconds, leaving the other two boys in pure confusion. Unfortunately, I couldn't find solution to this. I'm pretty sure that the guards at the gate wouldn't believe us if we said that Merlin and Arthur are from Camelot so they don't have ID, but they need to fly anyway to talk to a dragon.

"Is anyone going to tell us what this horrible problem is?" Arthur asked suddenly, fed up with not knowing.

Sarah rolled her eyes. "We'd have to fly there, which means that you two would have to exist to come with us." She explained briefly. Sarah began pacing the room. "Is this really, _really_ urgent?" she asked Merlin without stopping her walking.

"Yes," Merlin said with a seriousness I had never heard before.

"Great, then we have another problem. It takes months to get passports and all the other stuff we got to do to fly somewhere. I'm out of air miles." She rambled.

Mason got up. "Well, I guess I'll go work on that transporting spell." He shrugged. Suddenly, I gasped. "What is it? Just because I didn't do it the first time doesn't mean-"

"No," I stopped him. "What about the piece of evidence. Where did you transport it to?" I asked him.

"After we arrived here, I summoned it to come to Sarah's place. It's on my bed now." He said calmly. "I'm guessing we might need it?" Mason nodded his head, answering his own question. "Right, yeah," he muttered. His head shot up. "Yes! I've got it! They took that gypsy back in time." He concluded.

Arthur looked at me. "But I thought that time had stopped here when you went back?"

"It did, so that wouldn't work."

"Unless," Merlin trailed off.

"Unless what?"

"Unless that amulet was enchanted by a druid to make time continue," Merlin stood up. "That would make sense. Why else would something like that be at her shop. There was nothing else there like it; it must belong to the druids." He then froze. "But why would they want a gypsy?"

I racked my brain, trying to recall everything that Mordred and Cameron had told me when I had been kidnapped. They had wanted to know everything that I knew. Mordred wasn't the giving up type. He was determined to get that information from someone. Perhaps, that's why he stole the gypsy fortuneteller. The knots in my stomach tightened.

Mason clapped his hands together, making us all jump. "So, I guess I'll go start working on that spell." He turned on his heal and left the room. Arthur put his arm around me. No one was sure as to what to say at this point. Merlin stood up, then.

"I'm going to go help him. The sooner we get there, the better." He said smiling a bit, though it didn't give off the same effect it always does. I could tell that he was worried. Merlin left, leaving Arthur, Sarah, and me to think things through more.

"I don't see why he can't come here. It would only take him about a day or two." I complained. "Now, it's up to Mason to get us there."

Sarah groaned. "Tell me about it! I wanted to fly. I haven't been on a plane in ages!" She walked out of the room to return a minute later with a blue luggage bag. "We need to pack!" she chimed. I tried to suppress a laugh. "What?"

"I don't believe we are going to be gone that long." Arthur spoke up, eyeing the size of the bag. "We are only going to be gone for a day or so. Which reminds me," he looked at me. "Is this an appropriate time to ask for my sword back?"

I giggled. "Arthur, I don't really have it. It's back in my dorm."

He smiled. "No problem, I'll go ask Mason to summon it for me. Excuse me, ladies." Arthur slipped past me and out the door to join the other boys. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"He is unbelievable." I laughed. "Okay, what do we need?" I asked, turning my attention back to the packing.

"We need to change." Sarah said, pointing to my sweats. Sarah and I went to her room. I slipped on some blue jeans, sneakers, and a turquoise tank top. Sarah threw her hair up into a messy ponytail and I followed her lead. She reached deep inside her sock drawer until she pulled out a small, metal box and a key that went to it.

"What's that?" I asked, gesturing towards the box.

"This," she tapped the secure lid. "This has bank account numbers and some money. We need to eat, no matter where we are." Sarah reminded me. I nodded and we went back to my room. When we got back, Merlin, Mason, and Arthur were in there, triumphant smiles on their faces.

"We did it!" Mason said, holding up his magic book. I looked at Merlin to see his red neckerchief was tied around his neck again, standing out against the black shirt he was wearing.

Sarah smiled back at him and placed the money box in the bag. Mason put the magic book and the amulet next to it. I looked at Arthur, he had his arms folded which made me notice his sword tied safely around his waist. When he caught my eye, he smiled. I rolled my eyes and let it go. At least we wouldn't have to explain it to security at the gate.

"Are you guys ready?" Mason asked. All five of us joined hands. Sarah had the bag hanging from her arm, slipping her hand into Mason's. I had hold of Merlin and Arthur's, squeezing tightly. I'll admit I was nervous; the thought of being transported to Europe in a few seconds made me feel a little uneasy… and maybe queasy too. I shut my eyes, wanting it to be over already. When nothing happened for a good minute, I peeked out from behind my lids.

Mason began the incantation. "_Sciphlæst"_

_Back at Camelot…_

Cybil thought long and hard about the words she had heard and tried to come to her senses. Surely she had been imagining things or dreaming, better yet. Yes, dreaming would be nice. She would wake up in her little shop and none of this ever happened.

Suddenly, her eyes shot open. The door to her cell was being unlocked. Two guards walked in and picked her up roughly from the floor, making her hurt her ankle even more. Nope, she was definitely not dreaming. There wasn't supposed to be pain in dreams.

She was dragged back into the Great Hall. Quickly, the gypsy bowed to the king. "You want to see me, sire?"

"Yes, tell me more about Merlin." He ordered. Cybil remembered the voice and thought it best to keep her mouth shut. The king blinked. "You will tell me what you know, or die." His cold voice spat at her. The voice was wiped from her memory; she wanted to live.

"H-he will become the most powerful sorcerers to have lived, My Lord. Merlin has very powerful magic, a-and learns quickly." She said, racking her brain on anything else she could possibly remember about Merlin. Wasn't there a sword in a stone involved with him… and some woman named Nimueh? She couldn't remember, but that didn't matter. The king was outraged.

"What? That lowly servant will grow to be all powerful?" Uther demanded. Cybil nodded sheepishly. "As to what is he capable of?"

"I-I don't know exactly, sire." She stuttered. "All I know is that he possesses great magic."

"He is even more of a threat to us than I originally thought." Uther murmured. His cold eyes looked fiercely at her. "He must be found, and when he is, he shall be burnt at the stake." Uther said darkly. The gypsy's eyes widened. No! That's not right! That's not what happened, was it?

_Back in the Present, In the Middle of a Spell…_

His eyes flashed gold and a whirl of wind surrounded up. It was like being in the middle of a tornado, yet it had an uplifting feeling to it. The curtains in the room were blowing hard, fighting against the powerful wind. I was finding it extremely difficult to see anything through the dust collecting in the mini twister. I could feel the magic in the air. Mason's eyes were still gold, though flickering violently. It was obviously hard to perform this kind of magic. I started a silent prayer, hoping that he would be able to pull through with this spell.

To my relief, the wind started to die down. At last I was able to see beyond the dust. What I saw shocked us all. We were standing in some alien planet. The trees were covered in moss and the ground was covered with green leaves that had fallen from the trees. Everything was purely green, no two ways about it.

All of us exchanged looks. Could we be in the right place? There was only one way to find out; "Let's go exploring." I spoke up. Mason shrugged and was first to separate himself from the circle (much to Sarah's disappointment).

Arthur drew his sword and began to lead the way. He moved stray branches out of our way and tore down cobwebs. I was so relieved that I had worn tennis shoes. I don't think any of us were expecting to go hiking at all.

It wasn't until half an hour of hiking did we see a patch of light up ahead. The trees had blocked the sun from really touching the ground every place else. We walked quickly towards the light, welcoming the sun. To our misfortune, there was a huge bush blocking our path. It must have stood ten feet tall, at least. Arthur slashed it up, holding the branches aside for us all to pass.

I was first to step through, scratching my arm on one of the bush's branches. My head came up to look where I was going when I was frozen in place. Standing tall before me was the remains of a castle not thirty feet in front of me. The walls were crumbling and were mostly being claimed back by the land on which it was built. My mouth fell open as I observed the mighty towers that now lay on the ground instead of standing proud, waving the Pendragon flag.

The others came through the bush after me, only to be just as shocked. Perhaps Arthur was most affected by the sad scene. He ran towards the castle. I followed close behind him. I heard the rest of our friends behind me, trying to keep up. We were in the hallway, or at least what I thought was the hallway, when Arthur took a left, and I knew that he was going to the Great Hall. I ran up the stairs after him. The doors were off their hinges, so I walked right in.

Most of the Hall had been reduced to rubble on the ground. There was a giant chunk missing from the left corner of the room. You could see out to the forest on the other side where the knights used to train. Of course, it would be a long fall. The Pendragon flag was ripped and shredded. The threads lay, decaying on the floor, the color long ago faded. The only thing that was still standing was three thrones.

Arthur was standing by the throne that would one day be his. He had placed his hand on the edge of the armrest, his blonde hair blocking his eyes. I didn't need to see his eyes to know what he was thinking. I looked at Merlin. The young warlock was just as sad to see the remains of Camelot's great castle. Frankly, this grizzly sight affected even me. Camelot was like a second home to me and it pained me to think that this was that kingdom's fate.

The prince turned his back to the throne. "What happened here?" he whispered. I shook my head.

"I'm so sorry, Arthur." I said. His blue eyes sparkled for about a second before he turned back around. I saw him grip his sword tighter.

"What happened to Camelot?" he demanded in a low voice.

Suddenly, there was a gust of wind that shook the crumbling castle. Arthur put his sword up, ready for anything. The Great Dragon landed violently on the forest ground, looking in through the nature-installed window. Maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but he didn't seem to have changed in the least bit.

I saw Arthur's eyes widen ever so slightly, but other than that, he remained unchanged. Merlin walked over to the beast, his obvious hatred for him showing. I stepped back with Mason and Sarah. She was gaping at the dragon, for once, not knowing what to say.

"I thought you believed me?" I whispered to her.

She didn't take her eyes off of the dragon. "Yeah, but I thought that _some_ of it was made up, like the dragon for one!" Sarah hissed back. I patted her on the shoulder. "Does he, you know, breath fire?" I looked at her in the eyes. She turned her head to look at me. I nodded hesitantly. A frightened squeak escaped her lips.

"Why is it that you wanted to talk to me?" Merlin asked the dragon.

The beast blinked his golden eyes, all business. "Camelot is in grave danger. Because of recent events in history you and Arthur's destinies have been rewritten, if not erased." He said in his O-Wise-One voice.

"Why? What do you mean?" Merlin proceeded, determined to get past the dragon's riddles.

"I mean what I say." Well, that sure did clear everything up! "Now that the gypsy has been brought back to Camelot, events that must happen now, will not. All of your destinies have been rewritten, for the worse." He hissed.

Sarah leaned into me. "Well, I'm glad that I'm not related to this in any way." She smiled.

The dragon eyed her dangerously. In a loud voice he spoke, "You too are included in this. Everything has happened for a reason. You cannot escape what is meant to be." He growled at her. Sarah folded her arms, her cheeks turning bright pink.

"I've never been told off by a dragon before. Thanks for involving me in this, Jen." She said to me sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, smiling at my friend. I knew she loved being involved in this. Back at our dorm, she was always telling me that she wanted to be a part of some sort of adventure that would include saving the world or something like that. Well, here was her chance to do just that… with our help, of course.

Something occurred to me then. I stepped up to talk to him. "How is it that you have survived all this time without being noticed? And how has no one found Camelot when it's right here?" I asked suspiciously. He narrowed his eyes.

"That is not for you to know." He said simply. My dislike for dragons grew three sizes that day. I stepped back to stand next to Sarah again, arms crossed.

"What do we need to do?" Merlin asked annoyed by the dragon's lack of answers he's giving to us.

"You must go and change what happened to affect what is meant to be. Prevent the inevitable and your destiny will fall back on the right path and Camelot won't be reduced to this pile of stone you have observed." He finished. "You must go back the same way that you came." And with those words, he took to the skies, leaving us with more questions.

"What the hell did that tell us?" Arthur insisted, just as dumbfounded as the rest of us.

Merlin began pacing the room, thinking hard about the dragon's "wise" words. Just as he reached the exit to the Hall, he stopped. "We have to go back to Camelot the same way we left. I must have made a portal when I sent Jen back and that's how we were sent here. I told you that gypsy was important!" he said with a cheeky grin. "I was right!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes, we'll celebrate that rare occurrence later. We need to get back to Camelot." My face lit up.

"You mean we are going back, really?" I asked, the excitement building in my body. I glanced over at Mason. He was smiling just as big. Sarah had a thoughtful look on her face that quickly turned into a bright smile. Arthur and Merlin gave me a nod, smiling at my enthusiasm. "Should we leave the amulet here or bring it with us?" I asked, just remembering that magical artifact.

Mason took it out of the bag that Sarah was holding. "We should… probably take it with us so that no one can get their hands on it, even though we _are_ out in the middle of nowhere." He concluded, tossing it up into the air and letting it land safely in his palm.

Arthur nodded. "That sounds like a plan."

The five of us walked out of the castle. I was watching the skies to see if there was any sign of the Great Dragon anywhere, but there wasn't. Not even footprints where he landed. I must say, I liked the old Camelot better. This one had an eerie feeling to it, one that you would get when walking into a house that's haunted. It pained me to think that this pile of stone was what Camelot would become, that no one knows of its existence.

"_Jen,"_

I turned around to see who had said my name, but no one was there. The others were ahead of me, and they certainly didn't sound like the voice I had just heard; the Great Dragon possibly? No, it sounded more feminine. I must have just imagined it, so I ignored it, not wanting to make a big deal out of my bad hearing.

"I think it was there." Merlin said pointing to a rock that was being taken over by tall grass and wet moss. "It looks like the same place, doesn't it?" he asked Arthur.

The prince was taken aback. "How should I know? You're the one who made the portal in the first place. Don't you have some sort of magical connection to it?" he snapped back. "Can't you talk to it or something?"

"Okay, Merlin isn't AT&T." Mason said matter-of-factly. "It's worth a shot to try it, isn't it? If it's not the portal than the worst that can happen is us standing near a rock, looking like idiots." He did have a point. "We might as well try something."

"We all need to go over to it at the same time." Merlin warned just as Mason was about to walk right up to it. "That way we all get sent back at the same time." I nodded, taking in a deep breath.

Sarah looked just as nervous as I felt. We looked at each other, and Sarah took a step forward when the boys did. I looked back one more time at the castle, reminding myself of what I was going back there to do, to save, though not that I could forget easily.

I took my step forward, holding onto Arthur, when, _"Don't go!"_ the wind whispered. I looked at Arthur.

"Did you hear that?" I asked quickly.

He looked at me funny. "Hear what, Jennifer?"

My eyes narrowed and I shook my head. "Never mind," I said. _"You're imagining things, Jen!"_ I thought to myself. _"No, you're not! Haven't you learned that by now?"_ that annoying voice in my head spoke up. I mentally pictured myself stomping my foot. I was _not_ going to have an argument with myself! The annoying voice asked me. _"Ha, that's what you think!"_

There was only one more step forward to go, and everyone seemed hesitant. Arthur looked at the ground. "It's now or never. We must save Camelot." He looked back up at everyone.

"For Camelot," I said. Arthur smiled down at me.

"For Camelot," everyone chimed in, and that was excuse enough for us to take that fate-sealing step forward towards the portal/rock.

The wind started to blow, and a smile appeared on my face. I was really going back! We all weren't just standing by a rock looking like idiots! We were actually going back two thousand years to a medieval kingdom to help save it… again.

I was so happy that I didn't notice when the wind died down. There, standing in front of me, was Camelot castle in pristine condition. The Pendragon flag was waving proudly in the wind, the courtyard was full of the hustle and bustle of people.

"Welcome home." Merlin whispered to me. I beamed up at him, knowing what he said was true.

"Hey, do you have your powers now?" I asked him. He cocked his head to one side. The young warlock stretched out his hand and recited an incantation. Instantly his eyes flashed bright gold and the leaves around us danced in a circle. He smiled with pure satisfaction.

We walked up to the front gates, about to walk through when we were stopped. Arthur stepped forward, looking quite out of place wearing all black. "Let us through." He ordered. "By order of Prince Arthur," he added when the guard did nothing. The man took a closer look at him.

"My apologies, My Lord," He said and stepped aside.

I walked through the gate, staring wide eyed at the magnificent castle. As we walked up to the castle, I noticed that people were staring at us strangely. I realized it was because of the way we were dressed, but I didn't care. This was about Camelot.

Merlin suggested changing when Arthur stopped at the doors that lead into the Great Hall. "There's no time for that." He said sternly, opening the doors like he owned the place. "Father," he greeted. The king stood up, a mixture of emotions on his face. "We've come here to warn-"

"Guards!" the king yelled. "Arrest Merlin," He ordered. The young warlock looked strictly dumbfounded as the guards seized him by the arms.

Arthur stepped forward. "Father, what are you doing?" he yelled.

As the two guards left the hall with a kicking Merlin in tow, Uther walked slowly over to his son. "Getting rid of yet another sorcerer that seeks to destroy this land once and for all,"

**A/N: Sorry if the Britain bit was incorrect. I have never been there and don't know what it is really like, so I'm truly sorry if it's inaccurate. Please review, it would mean the world!**


	10. The Effects of The Alter

**A/N: Wow, thank you so much for your fantastic reviews! You guys are the best! I meant to update sooner, but Memorial Weekend kept me extremely busy as you can imagine. BUT! Now, the chapter is finally finished and I will let you (hopefully) enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, the BBC owns that fantastic series!**

It was as if the whole Hall was frozen in time. No one moved, no one breathed, and no one knew _what_ to do. For the first time I noticed that we were not the only ones in the room. Gaius was standing off to one side staring at the doors with agony in his eyes. The old physician was like a father to Merlin. It pained me to see him hurt that way and could only hope that he wouldn't get arrested for being associated with the warlock.

On the opposite side of the room were two guards holding a woman who was covered in dirt. Fear was showing in her expression. I squinted to get a better look at her. She had these strange robes on that were obviously not made in Camelot. Her clothes almost looked futuristic…

Wait! No, it couldn't be!

"You," I hissed. Her eyes met with me. It was the gypsy woman. How else could Uther have known about Merlin's magic? She must have said something. Anger was boiling in my blood. I used much restraint just then. All I wanted to do was run over to her and yell in her face. Of course, that might get me arrested as well, and where would we be then?

Sarah must have seen me fuming and touched my arm, shaking her head. "Is that the gypsy?" she whispered very quietly in my ear. I nodded. "Don't do anything. This king guy seems crazy." I took in a deep breath, nodding again. I usually was able to control my temper.

Arthur looked deep into his father's eyes. "Father, this is insanity! Merlin isn't a sorcerer. You don't know him like I do. The man is a clumsy mess and doesn't even know one end 0f a sword from the other." The prince defended. Normally, I would slap him for saying such things about Merlin, no matter how true they could be, but Merlin needed to appear as innocent as possible.

The king sighed. "Arthur, you are letting your friendship with a servant cloud your better judgment." He lectured, but Arthur wouldn't hear it. He kept shaking his head.

"No, Merlin isn't a sorcerer. As to whom did you get this information from?" he asked, not giving up.

"Sir Leon and the other knights were able to capture a gypsy the other day. She says that she is from the future." He said.

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "So you would really believe the word of a gypsy over your own son? How do you know that she is from the future? That's ridiculous."

"I don't necessarily believe that she is from the future, but once she told me that your servant was a sorcerer, I started to recall that most of Camelot's problems happened after he came here. It makes sense, Arthur, please see reason." Uther patted him on the shoulder. Arthur swiped it off and turned his back to his father.

He put his arm around my waist, leading us all out. We walked through the hallways in silence, not knowing what to say. Arthur opened his chamber door and Sarah, Mason, and I walked inside. Mason sat down on Arthur's bed. Sarah and I remained standing, too frantic to sit still. The prince shut the door behind him, looking at the floor.

"So that's it?" Sarah asked suddenly. "We are just going to let Merlin rot in a cell?" her voice was accusatory.

"She's right." I said. "We can't just sit back and do nothing."

Arthur's head shot up. "Jen,"

"I mean, you gave up so easily! You never give up that easily." Mason added.

The prince rolled his eyes. "Mas-"

"He is your friend! Without him you won't be able to become king!" Sarah practically yelled. "I mean, I've only known him a little bit, but he's so sweet!"

"Sarah,"

Arthur's door opened and Morgana walked in. "Arthur, how could you just turn your back to Merlin? He's always been there for us? You must prove his innocence!"

"Arthur, if you really believe what your father said…" I trailed off.

"_Everyone!"_ Arthur yelled, annoyed. "I'm _not_ giving up. I'm _not_ turning my back on Merlin, and I'm _not_ going to just do nothing! I couldn't disagree with father right then. He needs to think that I listened to him. Of course I don't believe what he says is true." He finished.

The whole atmosphere changed. Morgana smiled at her half brother. "I was going to say, you were out of character back there, Arthur. It's not like you to turn down a fight." I smirked. I didn't believe that Morgana was going to turn evil, she just couldn't.

"We need another plan." Mason spoke, standing up. Morgana noticed Mason for the first and narrowed her eyes.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" she asked him. "You look familiar." My mouth fell open as I realized what that must mean, but that didn't make sense. Mason shook his head. "I feel as if we have met before." She said, cocking her head.

He shook his head again. "No, I'm from the future, too." Mason informed her. I was biting my lip to keep from saying what I was dying to say! It was so obvious, to me at least, but I'll keep quiet. Things would be better that way.

Morgana nodded her head slowly, not entirely convinced that she had not seen him before now. It was best to change the subject before she figured it out.

"It's time for a new plan." I piped up quickly. Everyone looked at me, waiting for me to produce a plan right then and there. I felt my cheeks turn red. "Arthur, you're the battle plan expert." I pointed out. Thankfully, the attention was not longer on me.

"Right," he said, gaining his confidence. "First, we need to go down and see Merlin. I don't want him to use his magic. That would prove him guilty." Arthur paused. "My father cannot know that you helped us, Morgana."

The ward looked at him incredulously. "If you think that I'm just going to sit here and wait for you to-"

Arthur put his hand up to stop her. "No, Uther will not forgive you if you help another sorcerer escape execution. You do remember what happened with the druid boy?" his half sister paused and nodded. "Good, thank you for listening for once." I rolled my eyes.

"Arthur," she whispered quietly. The prince looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Merlin isn't really a sorcerer?" That was a definite question. Morgana was the only one of us besides Gwen who didn't know about Merlin's magic. Perhaps it was time she found out.

Arthur glanced down at me for an answer. I looked at Morgana and gave her a slight nod. Her breath caught, but her facial expression remained unchanged. I was surprised by her calmness, though there was a part of me that knew she had suspected it once or twice before.

"Alright," she said, holding her head high. "What can I do?"

"Don't go and see Merlin. No one must know that you have had contact with him. Tonight, when we decide to break him out, dine with my father. Give him no reason to suspect that you had anything to do with this." Arthur finished. Morgana nodded her head, her long black hair falling over her shoulders.

"Fine, if dining with Uther is all I can do, I'll buy you as much time as I can." She said with sadness in her eyes.

"Ladies," Arthur spun on his heel, looking at Sarah and me. "I'll fetch Gwen. We need to get you properly dressed so that you blend in more. Girls don't really wear pants right now." He smiled at us in our jeans.

"Gwen," Mason said suddenly. "Gwen as in Guinevere, Gwen?" he asked. My eyes widened as I sent him a glare, shaking my head violently. "What? Oh!" At last he caught on! "Sorry,"

Arthur looked at Mason and me, confused. "Why? What is going on with Guinevere?" Butterflies went through my stomach as he said her name. For this, I did not know why.

"Uh, it's nothing." Sarah perked up. "I've heard a lot about her. Where is she? You know, you're right we do need to blend in more around here! She sounds perfectly lovely from what Jenny has said about her."

Arthur looked at her suspiciously. "You babble worse than Merlin." Sarah shrugged.

"I'll go and find her." Morgana volunteered and turned on her heel, walking out the door. Five minutes later she returned with Gwen by her side. The future queen smiled happily when she saw me.

"Jen," she said blissfully and embraced me in a hug. I put my arms around her, so glad to see her no matter how jealous I was of her. "I'm so glad you're back! Where did you go?"

I bit my lip. "I went back home for a while." We let go of each other, stepping back.

Gwen immediately got serious. "I heard about Merlin. Uther has gone too far. Merlin isn't evil; everyone knows that he cannot hurt a fly." She insisted, her hatred for Uther rearing its ugly head.

"Guinevere, can you please help Jennifer and Sarah get dressed? They are going to be staying a while." Arthur asked before she had the chance to ask questions. The maid bowed her head respectfully and nodded. "Thank you. You may resume staying in your room, Jennifer." And at that, he left his room.

Gwen, just as confused as I was by Arthur's behavior, gestured for us to follow her to my old room. Morgana excused herself, saying that she must retire to her room. Sarah and I were measured by Gwen carefully and were brought three beautiful dresses each. She helped us with the strange ties and fastenings that went with medieval dresses.

"There you are." She said satisfied with her work. Sarah stepped out from behind the screen wearing a flowing blue dress that complimented her eyes very nicely. The sleeves were slightly too long, but you could barely notice it seeing as Sarah always rolls up her sleeves.

I was already in my dress: a purple gown that dragged elegantly on the floor. The neck line was medium cut with beautiful embroidery in gold. My hair was curled, cascading down my back like a chestnut waterfall. I had to swap my sneakers for slippers. They weren't as comfortable, but they were pretty cute!

"Thank you so much, Gwen." I smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Oh, it's no trouble. We've all missed you, Jen. It's nice to have you back." My cheeks burned red again. Sarah rolled her eyes.

"We should probably go down and see Merlin." I said before my mind could stray too far from my mission. Gwen nodded, getting serious again. I gestured for Sarah to follow me, but she hesitated. "What is it?" she bit her lip.

"Well, it's just that… you know him better. I think I'm going to sit this one out and go see what Mason and Arthur are doing and help out as much as I can there." She explained. I knew that she mostly wanted to spend some time with Mason, but she was right. I do know Merlin better.

I nodded, leaving the room, thanking Gwen again. One foot in front of the other, I strolled through the halls of Camelot Castle. I had passed a few knights on my way to the dungeons. They turned their heads, bowing their heads.

"My Lady," they would say respectfully. I sent them a playful smile, not because I was flirting-because I wasn't-but because my confidence level went up drastically. I passed a mirror and saw my refection. It was hard to recognize myself. My normally dull, blue eyes were twinkling even in the lack of light. I was standing up straight as if I had all power in my little finger. I was the queen of the world (hardly).

Overall, I truly looked like a Lady of Camelot, a woman of noble blood that had grown up around royalty and endless parties and feasts that almost always ended in food fights.

At last, I reached the dungeons. There were two guards standing at the entrance. I tried to ignore them, but they stopped me. "The king has ordered that no one can see the prisoner." The one on the right said. Now, I really wished that I had waited for Arthur to come with me. He could get me in.

I gathered up all the courage I had, preparing myself for what I was about to do. I tried to act insulted; widening my eyes like the word 'no' was foreign to me. "I _beg_ your pardon? I am a woman of noble blood. You cannot just toss me aside as if I am a lowly servant! You _will_ let me through, or I promise you that the only thing you will be guarding in the near future is a chicken coop near the northern borders." The confidence in my voice surprised even me. Not letting the act drop despite my astonishment, I glared at him, trying to break him. He briefly glanced at the other guard before stepping aside. I smiled slyly, walking past him. "An excellent choice, kind sir,"

Once I was out of earshot, I let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't believe that that had actually worked! I didn't even need Arthur's help. After making a mental note to celebrate later, I quickly walked down the aisle that led to the cells. It was chilly down here and always gave me the creeps.

It didn't take long for me to find Merlin. He was sitting up against the wall looking exceedingly dark. I ran up to the bars that separated us. "Merlin," I whispered. He looked up, immediately smiling. The young warlock got up and came over.

"I heard what you told the guards. I'm impressed." He complimented. I smiled back, but changed the subject.

"Look, we're trying to find a way to break you out. Arthur says not to use your magic. That will just prove Uther's suspicions." I told him. He was frowning. "What is it?"

"I thought you said that in your Camelot everyone knew about my magic. How do we know that that time hasn't come? Maybe, Uther will…" he trailed off.

"Maybe Uther will what? Accept magic in Camelot?" I asked doubtfully. "Merlin, this isn't how it is supposed to be. We need to break you out. You have to live, Merlin!"

"If I break out, then where do I go? Uther will try and hunt me down. Arthur won't be safe, Camelot won't be safe."

"But if you stay here, you will die." I protested back.

He looked down at his feet. "I get what you are saying, I really do, Jen, but what are we to do? If I break out then I'm on the run until Arthur becomes king. If I stay where I am, then I get executed tomorrow morning."

I shut my eyes tight. "I think you should use your magic to get out." I confessed. Merlin's head snapped up. My eyes opened slowly. "You can't die, Merlin. I don't want to see you die. You're my friend and I have no idea what any of us would do without you."

A smile played on his lips. "Thanks, but maybe this is how things are supposed to turn out. Maybe I've taken Arthur as far as I was supposed to."

I was shaking my head in disbelief. "No, that's not true! I can't believe you said that. Someone or something must have altered something in the timeline." I concluded, putting my hands on my hips. "When we got here, the gypsy woman was in the Hall with us."

Merlin was nodding. "You think she knew who we really were? And then told Uther?"

"It's a very strong possibility." I bit my lip. "Do you know where she is?" I asked. He pointed six cells down. I nodded and walked down to confront this gypsy. When I got there, she was lying down on the floor, back to the wall. "What is your problem?" I exclaimed, not bothering to say hi.

She looked up at me. "You,"

"Yes, me," I snapped. "Why in the hell would you tell Uther Pendragon about Merlin? Don't you know that you can totally change the future? We may not have one to go back to now!" I tried my best not to yell. "Once you realized that Camelot was not ruled by King Arthur, you should have kept your mouth _shut_."

In a small voice, she spoke. "What would you have done if you landed here in Camelot and know one thing, but things turn out to be the other way around?" she asked.

In a cold voice, I talked back slowly, "I've got news for you. I _did_ just land here in Camelot thinking that Arthur was king and that people knew about Merlin, but I kept my mouth _closed_ because I did not want to give away too much just in case I was wrong." Her eyes widened. "Now, it's up to us to save Merlin, something we wouldn't have to do if it wasn't for you." I felt as if I was being a bit harsh, but I was mad. This woman had no business giving away everything she knew about Camelot to a king that is barely mentioned in the legend, not that that had to do with anything, but still!

I turned on my heel, walking away from the gypsy as fast as my sneaker-less feet could carry me, not wanting to do anything rash. Quickly, I made my way back up the staircase and to my room. I didn't know if I had gotten all the information we needed, but now at least the guards would let me past them to be able to see Merlin.

Sarah was still in my room, sitting on the bed and looking out the window. When the door closed, she looked at me. "Hey, Jenny." She greeted, smiling sadly. "The king had ordered Arthur to go train and Mason went with him." she told me. I nodded. "Do you want to head down there?" there was hope in her voice.

I smiled. "Sure, why not?"

We left again and walked swiftly down to the training field. Sir Leon was conducting a 1-2-3-4 motion training style. On the opposite side, Arthur was fighting Mason, their swords clashing violently. They both had heavy armor on that was blinding in the sunlight. Sarah and I smiled and walked over to watch them up close.

It was a close fight; Mason had expert fencing skills that gave him an upper hand. Arthur, on the other hand, had been training with heavy swords ever since he was little. He was the best knight in the kingdom, no doubt about that.

Mason had blocked Arthur's swing with ease. The prince professionally held up his shield to obstruct Mason's stab. It all happened faster than my eyes could follow. Arthur swung up his sword, attempting to disarm Mason, but Mason did some fancy thing and counteracted this move, causing Arthur to lose his grip on the weapon. Arthur dove for his sword and it clashed with Mason's who was trying to stop him from obtaining it. The prince landed on the ground. Taking advantage of being so low, he tripped Mason by kicking his legs out from underneath him. In an instant, Arthur's blade was at Mason's throat. He removed his helmet a great smile was shining on his face. Mason took his off as well showing a smile on his face, as well. Arthur pulled his sword back and helped Mason up.

"Not bad, Mason, we could use more knights like you in Camelot." Arthur complimented.

"Well, I learned from the best." said Mason.

Arthur smiled. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I am your ancestor after all you had to inherit something from me." I giggled.

Mason shook his head. "I'm talking about my instructor, Mr. Williams." He teased. Arthur swung his sword lightly again. Mason just put up his shield, letting the sword come in contact with the metal. The boys laughed.

They came over to us. "You guys like the show?" Mason asked, taking off his cloves.

"Oh, yes!" Sarah said happily. Arthur laughed.

"Now, that was something we don't see every day!" I added.

"What the-?" I heard Mason say. We looked at him. He was staring at his hand that he had removed the glove from. There was something wrong with it. His skin looked strange, like the color of the ground… His hand looked transparent, like a ghost…

"What is _that_?" Arthur demanded. He shook his head.

I had a revelation just then: Merlin was going to be executed. Mason is Arthur and Merlin's decendent. Take Merlin out of the equation and you have no Mason. Mason was slowly fading away as the future was slowly being altered.

**A/N: TADA! Muahahahahaha! Another cliffhanger! How did you like it? Please review by clicking the little button at the bottom! It would mean sooo much!**


	11. Alert! Missed Information!

**A/N: Thank you all so much again for reviewing, favoring, alerting, etc… I really appreciate it! Ok, I'm happy to report that I shall be leaving you with another cliffhanger :) It is kind of evil, but that is the way I am with cliffhangers. So, if you want the chapter sooner than usual, please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin. It more owns me than anything.**

All four of us stared wide-eyed at Mason's ghostly hand. Unfortunately, my trip back "through the Looking Glass" has not been a positive one; first, Merlin get's put in prison, and now Mason is fading away. The gears in my head started churning, trying to think of an answer, a solution, anything that may help solve this new dilemma.

My heart was pounding as the nerves in my body helped me realize just how serious this situation was becoming. "We need to talk to that gypsy." Sarah spoke up. We all looked at her. She had nothing but concern covering her face. "She might know something."

"Wait," Arthur said. "The gypsy is _here_, in Camelot?"

I nodded. "Yes, I saw her when Uther ordered Merlin to be arrested. I tried to talk to her earlier, but she didn't really seem to care too much about anything, like it wasn't her fault Merlin's going to die." I told them. Mason nodded, holding out his hand.

"Well, let's do something fast because I'm _really_ not in the mood to disappear!" Mason exclaimed. I nodded, taking in deep breaths.

I closed my eyes. "I've got it. Arthur, Mason, go talk to the gypsy. Sarah and I'll go talk to…" my eyes opened. "Someone else," Not wanting them to ask any questions, I pulled Sarah by the arm, leading us back into the castle. I quickly made my way up the staircase and down the long hallways until I reached the right room.

"Uh, Jen, care to elaborate as to what we are doing?" she asked. I let go of her sleeve.

"We need to talk to Morgana. She knows Uther better than most people." I explained.

"So why can't you just talk to Arthur. I mean, he is Uther's son."

"I know, but I don't want Arthur to know what we're doing."

Sarah took in a deep breath and groaned. "I don't think I want to know what we are doing."

I rolled my eyes and knocked on the door. There was an 'enter,' so I opened the heavy wooden door to find Morgana sitting in a chair in front of a mirror, brushing her hair. Pain was written all over her features. She glanced at us before putting down her brush. "How can I help you?" She sounded so formal, yet we are among friends. Things are so different without Merlin always loyally by our sides.

"I think I've come up with a plan to get Merlin out, but Arthur can't know about it." That got her attention. "I need to know all that you know about Uther."

"Like what?" she asked, slowly standing up.

I smiled. "When is it the best time to talk to him?"

"When he's in a good mood," she paused, thinking hard. "Perhaps after…" Morgana trailed off, trying to remember when the king is ever happy.

"After he's been on the slow gin?" I suggested. The ward smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help. What is this plan exactly?" she asked. When I didn't say anything she continued. "Please, you must tell me. Merlin's execution is tomorrow morning!" I certainly didn't need reminding. I wanted to tell her, the only problem was, the old legend needed to be right for this to work.

"Morgana," I started slowly. "Is it possible to give someone else magic, like borrowing?" I asked, receiving strange looks from both Sarah and Morgana.

She was shaking her head. "How should I know?"

Sarah gasped and came up to me. "Excuse us for just one moment!" she said happily to Morgana who had a mixture of confusion and worry on her face. Sarah pulled me off to the side and talked quietly. "What are you thinking? Morgana is Morgan le Fay, isn't she?" I nodded. "I know what you're going to do and _don't_ do it! It's crazy!" she quietly exclaimed, gaining Morgana's attention.

"What do you think I'm going to do?" I asked making sure I wasn't going to give anything away if she was wrong about my plan.

She put her hands on her hips. "You are going to tell the king that you are the witch and use the magic you borrowed from Morgan le Fay to prove it. You are going to tell him that Merlin's innocent, but then you'll be the one who's going to be killed! That doesn't solve anything!"

I pursed my lips. "How do you know me so well?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "You are like an open book, Jenny."

Rolling my eyes, I told her the rest of my plan. There was a mix of emotions coming from her as I said each and every part of the little plan I came up with. "You see? It does solve… most things."

"No, landing yourself in jail does _not_ solve most things. We'd have to find a way to break you out then. This whole thing would have to be repeated and sooner or later, Uther is going to notice that the magic person keeps changing every time he convicts someone!"

"But if I keep Morgana's powers and die, then that will stop her from becoming evil." I protested, glad that Morgana went to change for her dinner with the king. No one was present in the room except for Sarah and me.

"You are still crazy! Plus, wouldn't that be changing the future?" she reminded me.

"The future is already pretty screwed up, though. Besides, isn't that why we came back here in the first place? To change what was to prevent what is?"

Sarah stopped talking and put her hands on her hips. "I'm still not letting you do this and if you try _anything_," she waved her finger in front of my face. "I will go to Arthur and tell him what you are going to do. Getting in trouble was not supposed to happen when we came back here. We are here to save Camelot to save the future."

"And to save Merlin," I added.

She smiled. "And to save Merlin _and_ Mason,"

There was a short moment of laughter before the seriousness swept back into the atmosphere. "Alright, Merlin's execution is tonight. Morgana is going to be with Uther. That's good. Now all we need is to find a way to actually break Merlin out without anyone noticing." I sighed. This was getting complicated.

Sarah looked around the empty room. "We've been here for a while. I doubt that the boys are done talking. Should we seek an audience with the king?" she asked perhaps a little too chipper.

"Why would we do that?" I asked.

"We could swear to him that Merlin's innocent. Doesn't one's word here count a lot more than it does in our time?"

"Yeah, but we're women. Besides, Arthur already tried to convince him of that. If he won't listen to his son, then he has no reason whatsoever to listen to two random girls." We both folded out arms and looked at the floor. "Should we go see if the guys are done talking, just in case because we need to get a move on?"

Sarah nodded. "You're right," and with that, we walked right out the door and headed in the direction of the dungeons. "Whoa, where are we going? I thought you wanted to see if they were done talking?" she asked when I didn't make the turn that headed towards Arthur's chambers.

"I do, but I need some answers first." I informed her. I could tell that panic was starting to take over Sarah. It was understandable. It's not every day that one is faced with a life and death situation that could alter everything everyone in the future ever worked for. I tried to stay calm for everyone's sake, but that wasn't working out for me so well.

The two of us reached the staircase that lead down to the cold prison. The same two guards from before were still there, watching the entrance with great intensity. I walked right up to them, getting ready to pass by them when they held out their hands, holding me back.

"No one is to enter." One of them said through their metal helmets.

Not knowing which one I had "threatened," I glared at each of them. "I do believe we have had this conversation before." I reminded them in the best British accent I could muster up. "Now, let my friend and I pass or that threat will be a promise." My tone was so chipper that it made me sound scarier than using a dark tone. By this, Sarah was impressed.

The guard cleared his throat. "My apologies, My Lady," He took his hand away and gestured for me to pass. I bowed my head with a sly smile, thanking him.

"Wow, Jenny, I'm shocked. What did you tell him?" Sarah asked once we were out of earshot. I just giggled and kept walking, determination taking over.

We rounded the corner and Merlin came into sight. He ran up to the bars. "What are you doing here… again? It's not safe for you to keep coming down here-"

"I know, I know," I interrupted. "But did Arthur and Mason come and talk to you?"

He nodded. "Yes, after they talked to the gypsy."

"So you understand why you need to break out as soon as possible?" I asked making sure he was caught up on the Mason situation. Merlin eyed me carefully, pondering over what I said. The cold air in the dungeons just became freezing. My hair was standing up on the back of my neck.

"I get that you all want me to get out, but Uther knows you and knows you came back with me. He will know it was you who helped me. I can't put you all in that kind of danger." Merlin argued. I took in a deep breath. I was about to protest when he grabbed my wrists gently. "Listen to me, don't do anything rash." Sarah lightly kicked me. Merlin smiled, reassuring _me_! Shouldn't that be the other way around? "Everything is going to be fine. We'll find a way to fix it, I promise." But Merlin was never good at lies.

"But the execution," I choked out. "It's tomorrow morning!"

"Yeah," he sighed. "I know."

A tear fell off my cheek and I looked away quickly. Merlin pulled me into a hug, an awkward one because of the bars between us, but a warm hug all the same. We pulled away and I heard a whimper from the other end of the dungeons. It seemed to come from the cell the gypsy was in.

Sarah was first to walk towards the other cell. I followed her close behind, counting my steps as I walked, not wanting to think of anything else.

Twenty three steps later I was in front of the gypsy waiting for her to notice us. She looked up after I cleared my throat. "I need to know what you told Uther." I said slowly, taking in deep breaths to control my anger. "Please, you must tell me everything you said to him."

"I-I just told him about Merlin a-and what happens when Arthur is the king." The gypsy croaked trying to sit up right. "That's all, I swear. I thought everyone knew about Merlin's magic. I never thought…" she trailed off, not making eye contact.

"You never thought he would be condemned to death." I finished for her. She gave a curt nod. I tried ever so hard to keep my temper down with much success. "Has Uther spared you or is he just keeping you around until he doesn't need you?" I asked after a minute.

She thought about this. "He says that if I want to live, I am to tell him everything I know, but I already have. What does that mean for me?"

"_Oh, would you stop thinking all about yourself!"_ I thought harshly. "It means that once Uther is done with you, no matter what he promised, he will move you from a cell to the pyre." A whimper escaped her lips, yet I did not regret telling her this. She needed to see the realization of this and just how deadly everything had become.

"N-no, no!" she yelled. "I knew I should have never come with that boy."

My eyes narrowed. "What boy?" she shook her head, but I wasn't going to give up. "Was he short, dark brown hair, very blue eyes, extremely innocent looking?" I asked. She gasped and nodded. Sighing, I looked her straight in the eyes. "You were brought here by Mordred. You do know who Mordred, is don't you? What he does?"

Cybil squinted her eyes. "Y-yes, doesn't he kill…? Oh, by the stars!" she chimed as realization took over. I nodded with a fake smile and Sarah rolled her eyes.

"What?" my friend asked. "Did you _just_ understand how serious this really is?" It may have been a trick of the lack of light, but I think the gypsy looked slightly ashamed. That though made me feel a little better. At least she was up to speed.

I patted Sarah on the shoulder just as she was about to yell at her. She muttered a sorry and turned her back. "Merlin is being…" I didn't want to say the E word. "taken up to the courtyard tomorrow morning at first light. I can tell you don't want to see that happen." or I hoped she didn't. "I know Mordred personally, and I know what he is capable of. What exactly did he want you to do? It may be the key to saving Merlin."

Cybil glanced at the wall. "H-he, the boy, just said that he needed my help. That's all he told me until these knights started chasing us and I was caught." Well, that was a lot of help. I sighed and put my hands on my hips. "I'm sorry I don't know more." And I could tell she was.

We thanked her curtly and left the dungeons, waving at Merlin on the way out, silently promising to save him no matter what.

"He told us the same thing." Arthur told Sarah and me after we got back to them. "He doesn't want us involved, and that he'll fix everything." The prince rolled his eyes. He was just as frustrated as us. The gypsy hadn't informed Mason or Arthur of anything else that we didn't already know.

It was getting late and the twilight world was already taking over the land. The intensity of the atmosphere increased when we were no closer to finding a solution or making a plan. Arthur was pacing his room, sword in hand. I was sitting on his bed, staring at the floor. The gears in my head just stopped turning. Sarah was gazing at the blazing fire, unmoved for the last thirty minutes. Mason was sitting at the table with her, observing his transparent hand.

There was a gasp followed by a, "What the French Toast?"

My head shot up and I rushed over to the table to join Arthur and Sarah who were gathered around Mason. Peeking over Sarah's shoulder my breath caught. Mason had pulled up his sleeve to show that his whole arm was transparent, but it wasn't just that arm. Both of his arms were disappearing!

He glanced up at us, worry in his green eyes. "This isn't good."

We spent the rest of the night making plans. Arthur had come up with three very good plans, but there were very big flaws in them that could cause additional issues. Mason had been reading the magic book for a good two hours. I had gone down to see Gaius, assuring him that we were doing all we can-though it's not much-to help rescue Merlin. The physician had been spending all day flipping through his books. He had been just as successful as the four of us, unfortunately.

"You've seen him?" Gaius asked astonished after I told him that I had been down to see Merlin a couple of times. "How on earth did you possibly manage that? The king had forbidden anyone to see him. How was he?"

It took me about twenty minutes to calm him down and answer all of his questions. The physician was shocked when I explained how I had been able to see Merlin. Eventually, I had to excuse myself so I could get back to Arthur's chambers, but I didn't go empty handed. He had given me two vials of a potion that calmed your nerves whilst relieving the pain in your head, or in other words; the medieval version of Tylenol.

Two hours until first light and we still hadn't broken Merlin out. I could almost smell the blood in the air already as I glared at the clock, begging it to start ticking backwards.

I sat down on the floor, not meaning to close my eyes, but my lids won the battle and shut. In a matter of seconds I was out cold, falling into the crazy dream world. Normally when I'm stressed I don't dream. It's when I'm calm that my dreams are insane, but this time, however, I had the strangest dream ever and possibly the most bone chilling.

There was a man who looked vaguely familiar standing in front of me. Looking around, I saw that we were standing nowhere, literally. It was just a bright white… well, it wasn't even a room. It was like standing on a cloud. The man had platinum blonde hair and was dressed like a druid. Wait! I remembered who he was…

"Cameron," I gasped. A smile was playing on his lips as he nods. "Wh-what are you doing here? Where is here exactly?"

His smile faded. "I'm in your dream. I warned you not to come back to Camelot. Now, I hope you understand why."

"That was you," I realized. "You were the one I heard back at the crumbling castle." He nods again. "But how- I'm so confused. What is really going on here?"

Cameron shook his head. "I am not allowed to say. All I can tell you is to not give up." Those words made me flash back to when he said that back when Mordred kidnapped me. "Don't completely abandon your knowledge of Arthurian Legend. You may find it comes in handy." He paused. "There is one thing you must know. Merlin will–"

Suddenly, I was shaken awake violently by Arthur. "Jen, Jen, wake up quickly." My eyes flashed open, my breathing heavy. Looking out the window, I saw the morning light seeping into the room. "We need to get outside." He hulled me up off the floor. "Mason and Sarah are already in the courtyard, trying to delay the execution."

Apparently, they did not succeed in this impossible task. Off in the distance I could hear the sound of drums beating from the courtyard, the sound of Merlin's final heartbeats.

**A/N: I hope that this puts an unexpected twist on things. Please tell me what you think! It would be most appreciated!**


	12. The End of the Line

**A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews and alerts! I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this, and I hope that this chapter doesn't disappoint anyone. It took me a bit to write, trying to think of a plan that would fit with this plotline I decided to go with. Please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, unfortunately, only the Season 1 DVDs.**

Arthur and I ran out to the courtyard as fast as we could, receiving many glares from passer byes that I ran into. The sun was blinding making it very difficult to see as to where exactly I was going, but I always had one eye on Arthur. He knew where he was going and how to get there, with or without being able to see fully. He stopped suddenly when we reached a large, gathering crowd.

Uther was not at his usual place for an execution. The king wasn't at the balcony staring down at the alleged sorcerer about to be ridded of his life. No, Uther Pendragon was standing right on the empty platform where the chopping was about to take place. There was determination in his cold eyes; it was hatred like no other. Uther was considered many things among his loyal subjects; kind, fair, just, and above all, strong. He had a certain will that drove men to become great, to become legendary.

Uther was, at this moment, considered many things among these loyal subjects in the crowd staring up at him; kind, fair, and just was not how they would describe their king.

Strong, that the king was without a doubt, but for those who knew Merlin, they understood that this time their king had gone too far. For those who didn't know the warlock as well, it was clear that this was just another day, another sorcerer condemned to death, another possible innocent boy who was falsely accused…

Merlin _was_ falsely accused. Yes, he did practice magic within the great kingdom of Camelot, but no, he was not guilty of committing treason. That was far from the truth. Merlin was not evil; everyone in this gathering crowd could see that.

At last I spotted Sarah and Mason. They were standing in front of the wooden platform, walking briskly towards us. Arthur and I ran in their direction, meeting them in the middle of the mob. Mason was looking paler than ever before, the transparency becoming obvious. Sarah had her hair down, a tangled mess.

"I'm so sorry," were Sarah's first words when we met up with them. "We tried everything, but Uther threatened to throw us in the dungeons if we didn't back off." Mason nodded, concurring with the story. Giving up, Sarah gave one last outrageous idea for saving Merlin. "If only Robin Hood were alive…"

My lips curved into a painful smile. "We aren't in Sherwood Forest." I said sadly. I lowered my head, trying to prepare myself for what I was about to witness, knowing that I was unable to help my dear friend, to save him, to ever hug him or see those happy, blue eyes ever again. That was something no one is able to prepare for.

"Gaius," Arthur called. My head snapped up, looking where Arthur's head was turned. The old physician bustled over to us, nothing but pure angst in his aging face. I felt a stab of guilt sink into my stomach. I had promised him things would be okay, I had assured him we would find a way to save Merlin.

And I broke the one promise that was the most important one to keep.

Gaius gazed at us with those heartrending eyes before becoming started by Mason's appearance. "What on earth…?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't ask. Believe me, you'll get a headache."

The physician shook his head and turned his attention to the drum beats which were getting louder. Everyone's attention turned towards a guard who-besides looking almost scared of Merlin-was leading him out to the chopping block, Merlin's head bowed, not in shame, but in sadness. My vision became blurry as tears seeped into my eyes.

Finally, as he was about to be forced up the stairs of the platform, he held his head high, scoping out the crowd. I waved my hand and his gaze locked with mine. All five of us tried our best to smile for him and he returned our gesture with his usual goofy grin that touched his eyes, which I could have sworn had tears in them as well.

"This man," Uther boomed. He gestured his gloved hand towards the warlock standing with his hands bound behind his back. "Merlin, the Crown Prince's own manservant, has been accused and found guilty of practicing magic in Camelot. For such a crime there is only one fair punishment for me to pass. His punishment is death, to no longer be able to curse this world with his evildoing." The king removed his gaze from the crowd and onto Merlin. "Do you have any last words before you are silenced for good?"

Merlin tilted his head for a second, thinking hard. "Yeah, I do," he grinned at the king. He looked out at us. "Arthur, whatever you do, don't get a bootlicker of a servant. Trust me, you'll get bored!" he chuckled.

"That's enough," Uther interrupted, surprising the gathered people. He held up his hand, cueing the guard to push Merlin's head down, but he resisted.

"No, I'm not done," Merlin said fiercely, causing the king himself to take orders. The dark side of him left letting his grin return. His friendly eyes narrowed a bit to lock contact with mine directly. "My Lady, I do believe it be best if you found the source of the amulet before returning home." And with those mysterious words Merlin left me to ponder over; he looked at the king and said cheerfully, "Now I'm done."

Slightly taken aback, once again the king gestured for the guard to force Merlin's head onto the chopping block. Merlin's blue eyes kept watching us, silently saying goodbye to each of us. Uther raised his arm, this time cueing the executioner to raise his ax. He threw his arm down as the ax's blade whistled through the air, the crowd dead silent.

I turned my head around, pushing my face into Arthur's chest, not able to watch Merlin be killed. He put his face in my hair, smiling one last time at his friend. The mob of peasants gasped and shrieked with terror as the blade made full contact with Merlin's neck. I didn't look back up to see his lifeless body. I couldn't bear the thought of always remembering him without a smile, without life.

Arthur buried d his face in my hair, kissing the top of my head as I wept into his shirt. Sarah put her arms around me, crying on my shoulder. No one in the courtyard spoke, no one dared to say a thing for fear of losing their temper.

Uther was first to speak, naturally. "Let this be yet another lesson to all who dare to practice magic in my kingdom." He smiled. "Tonight there shall be a feast to celebrate the end of a powerful sorcerer in Camelot." My mouth hit the floor as those words sunk in. He was really throwing a _party_ to celebrate someone's _death_?

As the crowd parted, I heard heavy footfalls coming nearer to me. When the sound stopped I looked up to see Morgana's blood-shot eyes staring down at me. "What happened?" her voice cracked. "I thought you were going to break Merlin out!" I was about to answer her when she gasped. "What's happening to Mason?"

Sarah, Arthur, Gaius, and I turned to see the descendant almost completely ghost-like. He was totally transparent; he could easily be missed by the folks passing by us.

"Oh, no," he muttered, though it sounded distant like an echo. Then suddenly, with a wisp of white smoke, he vanished out of thin air.

"What just happened?" Arthur asked.

I stared blankly at the spot as to where Mason had just been standing. "Merlin's dead. One key part in the equation was lost. If Merlin was killed now, Mason would never have existed. It wouldn't matter if you were alive, Arthur. You may become king, but things won't work out the way they were meant to. Everything has changed now." I was completely nonchalant, afraid to show any emotion at the moment.

Morgana gently placed a hand on my shoulder, comforting me as a single tear trickled down my cheek. "What can we do?" she asked as all of the ghostly clues that I had been given dawned on me.

"_Don't completely abandon your knowledge of Arthurian Legend."_

"_I do believe it be best if you found the source of the amulet before returning home."_

"Okay," I said nodding my head. My confidence was building as I started to understand what I must do. "Okay," I repeated a little louder. I looked Morgana straight in her bright green eyes. "Morgana, we need your help. We have to save Merlin and you are the only one who is able to do that."

The ward was taken aback by my words. "Me? I couldn't even help break him out. How can I possibly-?"

"You just have to trust me, no, you don't even have to do that; just trust yourself." I babbled. "You are Morgan le Fay of Arthurian Legend. You can do whatever you want if you set your mind to it!" It was a cliché, but it was true and needed to be said especially in this case.

Sarah leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Jen, I don't know if I like where you're taking this."

I took in a deep breath. "We need to find Mordred." I added.

"_Mordred,_" Sarah said with utter disbelief. "Okay, Jenny, you're talking crazy! We can't involve Mordred. He's… he's Mordred!" she gasped. I nodded.

"I know, but we don't have a choice. We need Mordred to help Morgana so she can help Merlin." Wow, that's a lot of 'M' names.

"But that will be like putting two negatives together!" Sarah reminded me, panic in her voice.

"And two negatives make a positive!" I reminded her.

"What are you two talking about?" Arthur asked, stepping into our little bubble.

"Yes, what does Mordred have to do with this?" Morgana asked, not knowing how to feel right now. "How can I help bring a man back to life?" it was obvious she wasn't convinced by my words.

I looked at Sarah. She gave me that do-what-you-have-to-do kind of look and I nodded. "You're a witch, Morgana, and you are the only one powerful enough to be able to save Merlin." I blurted out as Sarah cringed. Arthur started to smile.

"W-what," he stuttered. "No, that's not possible," His eyes were wide. "Morgana c-can't be… she can't have magic."

I glanced at the two dumbstruck legends raising an eyebrow. "Oh, can't she?"

**A/N: Bit of a shorter chapter this time. Not as much of a cliffhanger, considering what I **_**could**_** have done! (Evil laugh) Anywho: Please, please, please review! They are always appreciated! It's how I know whether or not I'm doing a good job!**


	13. The Future Sins of Mordred

**A/N: I'm back with another chapter! I hope you all had a great Father's Day and if you didn't I'm truly sorry :( Thanks to all my loyal reviewers! It means so much! Now, please sit back, relax, read, enjoy, and review!**

**Disclaimer: Merlin is sadly not mine, nor ever will be unfortunately.**

_Knock! Knock!_

"Enter," Arthur called. The door to his chambers opened. Sarah, Morgana, Arthur, and I had retreated to the prince's room right after the execution. We had stayed there the whole day whilst I explained what I meant back in the courtyard. The legends had not believed me, yet it seemed that Morgana wasn't as surprised as she should be. Perhaps she already knew, but no one had said it aloud to her before. It was a possibility.

A guard walked inside, keeping his distance. "The king requires both your presents at the feast tonight, My Lord and Lady."

Arthur sighed, looking at the three girls who were watching him intently. "When is the feast?"

"It has already started, sire."

I narrowed my eyes and looked out the window. Alas, it was dark out. "Alright, but tell my father we shall not be coming immediately." It was obvious to the guard that the prince was more than just upset, he was furious. Arthur's cold blue eyes said enough that the guard didn't even need to be told to leave. The man simply nodded and quickly shut the door behind him.

The prince turned back to us. "Jennifer, I believe this to be selfish of me, but would you accompany me to the feast?" With a weak smile I gave him a nod.

"There's nothing to be celebrating," Morgana spoke up. I looked over at her. Her eyes were still red and her gown was wrinkled. "Uther is an arrogant fool to be rejoicing over Merlin's death. This never would have happened if it weren't for that gypsy and her stupid mouth."

Sarah and I agreed and tears streamed down my face. Not one of us had dared say a word about Merlin's death until now. It was so strange to hear it aloud, for it to be said for the world to know that it wasn't a dream; that it really happened. Unfortunately, for Merlin it may have seemed inevitable from the very beginning. I shuttered at the thought.

Arthur instructed us girls to go get changed, so we retreated to Morgana's chambers again. Gwen came in a few minutes later, her face as pale as can be. She looked like a ghost herself with the blank expression she was wearing. It was so un-Gwen-like.

Three seconds after she entered the room and realized that it wasn't just Morgana she was helping, she faked a smile, trying to perk up. I saw right past her mask and ran up to hug her. She was taken by surprise but hugged back letting a tear or two fall from her eyes. When we pulled back, we were both crying silently.

I heard Sarah sniffle and saw Morgana stand strong, afraid that if she said anything her graceful mask would break and she too would fall victim to the sadness that is in the process of engulfing the once magical castle. Gwen wiped her eyes quickly and I followed her example. This was not the time to be sad; it was the perfect time to figure out what to do about Merlin…

Merlin… my dream!

Cameron! He had tried to tell me something, but then Arthur woke me… Ugh, I need to know what he was going to say about Merlin! It struck me like a thousand knives. I needed to see the druids, but how? No druids would dare be in Camelot. Gaius might know where they are, then again, he also may not. I didn't want to have to get him involved unless it was totally necessary. He needs to stay out of the suspicion zone Uther is always forming.

Quickly, I wiped those thoughts from my mind, knowing I couldn't do anything about that until this horrible feast is over. I needed to concentrate on getting dressed and being unrecognizable to Uther at the moment. This was just in case I might do something I will regret-or not-at the feast… just in case. Planning ahead is not a bad thing when you're in the Middle Ages, being ruled by a tyrant who hates magic because of one incident.

Once Gwen had fetched Sarah and I these beautiful dresses and had helped us into them, we fixed our hair. Morgana wore hers down, having a waterfall of shining black hair flow down the back of her green dress. Sarah had her blonde hair curled in a side-ponytail that looked simply beautiful. Her deep blue dress did wonders for her eyes. My brown hair had, too, been curled, but I kept it down like Morgana. The red dress I wore was low-cut and the straps hung from my shoulders. Glancing in the mirror again, I was perfect! Well, perfect in the sense that Uther would mistake me for a noble woman.

Morgana, Sarah, Gwen, and I then walked out of her chamber and down the hall, turned right, and down the staircase into the Great Hall. Arthur was already their standing alone by a wall looking miserable. I could just picture Merlin standing by him, chatting on and on about some random subject. A small smile played on my lips as I thought of this.

He looked up from the floor to see us four girls and began walking towards us. Morgana and Gwen walked off in another direction, wanting to talk alone. Sarah and I proceeded to walk to Arthur, but the prince was approached by the king before we could reach him. I quickly drug Sarah out of the king's line of vision.

"I want to hear what they are talking about!" she protested. I nodded.

"So do I, but I don't want the king to know we are listening. He may say more if we aren't involved in the conversation." I explained. She got that 'ah-ha!' expression and we casually pretended to mingle with the crowd next to the royal father and son, grabbing a glass of wine.

"…must be had for you to understand, but believe me when I say it was for the best," Uther said to the prince. "I know that it must have come as a shock to you, finding out that your own servant was a sorcerer, a traitor, and an enemy of Camelot. You must see that we are much safer without a powerful sorcerer."

"I still don't see Merlin's death as cause for celebration. He was innocent. He had my full trust." Arthur defended. I smiled and I saw Sarah happy with satisfaction.

"Y-you have been manipulated by his lies, Arthur. It seems that you had befriended the boy, and it must hurt that he defied that trust you put in him."

"No," Arthur practically yelled, but everyone knew better than to stop and stare. "Merlin didn't defy that trust I have-had in him. I trusted that man with my life and he had saved my life many times before this. I am the one who defied his trust. I regret not saving him when I had the chance." He finished, leaving the king stunned.

"I do not believe what I am hearing. You are defending a sorcerer!" Uther yelled quietly.

Arthur chuckled. "No, father, I'm not. I'm defending Merlin. _The_ Merlin," My smile continued to grow wider. This was exactly how Merlin and Arthur's relationship should be; loyal to the end. Before the king had the chance to say anything else on the matter Arthur spoke again. "I do believe it's time for you to give up. I knew Merlin. You didn't. He wouldn't hurt anyone, especially this kingdom."

Leaving the king himself speechless, Arthur walked away. A few seconds later, I felt a tap on the back. Turning around, I saw Arthur standing right behind me. "You don't need to pretend to not be listening anymore, Jennifer." I blushed.

Suddenly, the king's voice boomed over the crowd's. "A toast!" he shouted. "A toast to the death of a powerful and deadly sorcerer that was ridded from this kingdom once and for all," he raised his goblet and the people did the same.

I looked at Arthur and Sarah. "A toast to Arthur who will be nothing like his arrogant father," I raised my glass.

Sarah smiled and raised hers. "Here, here!"

"I'll drink to that," Arthur smiled and took a big gulp of wine.

I giggled and glanced around the Hall. Everyone was having the best time, the best time celebrating someone's death. They had no idea that by doing this, they were practically celebrating the end to Camelot and cursing Arthur's rein.

"These people-" I started to say, but then something dawned on me. It was in that instant, while I was staring deep into Arthur's dazzling blue eyes, I knew what to do, or at least I thought I did. "That's it," I whispered.

"What's it?" Arthur asked when I didn't elaborate.

I looked up at him, staring at him with intense focus. "I think I figured out how to save Merlin through Morgana, but we'll need help unfortunately." I pondered over the possibility of the druids helping. Then again, Merlin was the prophesized warlock, so maybe that gives us some leverage.

Arthur shook his head out of confusion. "'Through Morgana', what do you mean?"

Pausing for a moment to collect my thoughts, I started pacing. "I mean if we can find the druids, they might be able to help her channel enough power for us to go back in time… again."

Sarah gasped, a smile appearing on her face. "And stop the gypsy from spilling Merlin's secret to the king! Very clever, Jen," she said, folding her arms. Arthur was silent. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but whatever was on his mind it was bothering him dearly. "I'm going to take your silence as an agreement, Arthur!" Sarah clapped her hands together. "Now, how do we find the druids?"

"That's just the thing," Arthur whispered. He pointed with his eyes towards two knights of Camelot that were glaring at us suspiciously. My heart wrenched as I thought that they might have heard us talking about the druids. They could go directly to Uther causing yet another plan of ours to blow up in our depressed faces… again.

"Oh, sorry," Sarah mouthed as she realized her mistake of talking too loud. It's so easy to get caught up in your own world, to forget about the others around you. Keeping one eye on the possibly troublesome knights, I turned back to Arthur as he continued to talk.

"We don't know where the druids are. They move around. They probably moved right after we rescued Jen from the camp a while back, so it's impossible to know where the druids could be now." Arthur sighed, looking at the floor. "Morgana had a… connection… with the druid boy, Mordred. Maybe that is the key to finding the druids. I mean, you say that she has… magic-"

"Whoa," Sarah interrupted, throwing a glare at me. "We are _not_ involving Mordred of all people! Isn't he the one who kidnapped Jen in the first place? Besides, that doesn't even compare to what he does in the future! You know it isn't a good idea, Jen, if you want Arthur to…" she trailed off as Arthur urged for her to continue her speech. "Never mind,"

The prince rolled his eyes, getting annoyed. "Then how will we find them?"

We pondered over that for a brief second before I blurted out, "The Great Dragon," The two went wide-eyed on me. "Think about it, he always helped Merlin out so he would help us to save Merlin. He's our only hope right now, as much as I hate saying that."

With a strained 'alright' from Arthur and a dramatic eye roll from Sarah, we took off out of the Great Hall, thankful to be leaving the party. I was about one step ahead of Arthur as we all walked briskly down the hallways towards the dungeons that have held the dragon captive for two decades.

I grabbed a lit torch and practically ran down the long tunnel leading to the cave; Arthur and Sarah close at my heels the whole way. Once I reached the opening, the two caught up with me. Well, Sarah caught up. Arthur was pretty much at my side the whole time seeing as he's a fast runner and I'm incredibly slow compared to him.

"Hello," I called into the open air, my voice bouncing vigorously off the rock walls. There was no answer, only the sound of water running at the bottom. "Hello," I tried again. It was time to provoke the stupid lizard. "I know you're here! You're always here because you're locked up!"

The sound of beating wings filled the cave. Arthur stood closer to me, whispering a 'careful' in my ear. The dragon landed loudly on the great boulder place in front of us.

"What is it you want, young time traveler?" he asked, his golden eyes piercing my very soul.

I gulped, rethinking my plan. "Do you know what happened to Merlin?"

The Great Dragon started chuckling. "Why is it that the youth always believe I know everything the very moment it happens? I can only know so much without-"

"Yeah, yeah," I put a hand up for him to stop. "Well, Merlin's dead. He died this morning." The dragon remained unchanged as I spoke. "We think we know how to save him, but we need your help." I told him. He sighed and laid his head down to get a better look at us.

"And what is it you wish to know now?"

Taking in a deep breath, I looked him in the eye. "Where are the druids?"

"I refuse to help with that."

"But that's the only way to save him."

"The witch would run into the boy! The future has already been changed too much." He concluded. "You must find different means to save him."

"Why won't you just tell us? There is no other way!" Arthur yelled.

The dragon ignored him and continued to talk with me. "Think hard. Remember all that you knew about Camelot before you came here now. I once gave Merlin a chance to change the tragedy that has yet to happen. If you pursue this course of action, that tragedy will happen sooner than planned."

I shook my head. "You don't know that. The future isn't in stone!"

"The old prophesies talk of an alliance of the witch Morgana united with Mordred, becoming a force of pure evil." He hissed darkly. "So as you can see, I will not help you find the druids. You must do so alone if you are foolish enough to not take my advice like the young warlock did before you."

He took off, leaving us dumbfounded, angry, but most of all, more determined than ever to find the druids. The future has already been altered. There isn't much more harm we can do.

**A/N: There you go! I hope you enjoyed this. Please review! It would be so appreciated.**


	14. The Last Connection of Hope

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews I got! I really love them so much! I really am sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but I've been super busy; birthdays, helping my friend move, family stuff… I could go on. Please don't hate me for the length between updates!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Merlin is not mine and if I checked right, he won't ever be :(**

More determined-and angered-than ever, I stomped out of the cave. Arthur put his arm around my waist, slowing me down. I turned to look at him as he gently pulled me to a stop, his blue eyes not giving away any sign of weakness.

"Calm down, Jennifer. We need to think this through and to do that you need to tell me what's going on with the druid boy." Arthur said as Sarah started pacing the width of the tunnel. I looked away from him, folding my arms as more tears came streaming down my cheeks. "Don't worry, we will find the druids, but I need to be informed of everything."

I took in a deep breath calming my nerves as much as possible, knowing that if I told Arthur what the future holds it could be bad and perhaps… change the future? No, we've already jacked that up way too much. I was starting to wonder if there was some sort of time traveling manual full of rules and guidelines like there is with everything else. Surely, magic like this had some form of supernatural rules, though I was starting to doubt it.

"I-Arthur," I stuttered. He looked at me with intensity, just waiting for the words to come gushing out of me. Sighing, I looked down at the ground so I couldn't see his persuasive eyes. "You have to understand that I can't-"

"Oh, why can't we just tell him?" Sarah interrupted suddenly. She walked over to where the two of us were standing and crossed her arms, looking at me. "I mean, it can't change much more by telling him what _might_ happen. It seems to me that that thing won't happen because this Camelot is so different. Plus, Mordred isn't even the same person."

"Yes, he is most definitely not my son, so whatever it is that you're not telling me you really should. I'm trying to help Merlin out as much as possible and that requires you to be able to tell me as much as possible." Arthur said, putting his prince mask on.

I knew he was right; that they both were right, but there was a part of me that knew I shouldn't tell Arthur anything more. My instincts were telling me to stay quite; my mind was telling me to spill.

Maybe instincts can be wrong.

"Alright," I said. "I'll tell you. According to Arthurian Legend, Mordred…" I glanced at Sarah and she gave me a reassuring nod. "Mordred is your…downfall. He murders you in battle." I whispered. From his quietness, I assumed that he hadn't heard me, and I didn't want to repeat it. I was barely able to choke it out this time.

Slowly, I looked up at Arthur to see his face. It was blank, emotionless from years of training to keep his expressions masked by bravery. Those blue eyes blinked a couple of times before he put his hands on his hips and he cleared his throat.

"Well," was all he said or all he was able to say. I felt perfectly horrible about telling him. I was regretting it now like I knew I would be. It was clear that he was still processing, but we needed to get going. He seemed to know this too. "It doesn't matter. We need to find the druids."

I was shocked by what I was hearing. Despite what I told him he still wanted to go out and risk his life! No, no, no, this is bad! "What? Arthur that's insane!"

"No, it's not. Jennifer, I'm not going to let-"

"Okay," Sarah interjected. "No fighting, you two! This isn't exactly the time. First, let's get out of this creepily dark tunnel. Second, let's find someone who _will_ help us and _does_ know where the druid camp is."

"But who would know? There aren't many, if any, druids in Camelot." Arthur pointed out.

"Gaius might know," I whispered, not totally sure I should have even said it. I didn't want to drag Gaius into this, but we may have no choice. Then again, Merlin is very important to him. He may not care if he gets involved. For all we know he does want to be a part of this, Uther or no Uther.

Looking up at Arthur, I saw the confusion in his face, wondering why Gaius would know. Actually, I didn't really know the answer to that unasked question. It was just for some weird and unexplainable reason that I knew he might have an idea as to where we could find the druids. I don't know if it's because he just seems to always know what things are and how to deal with them, or because he has had so much experience that he must know, but I just knew he was the one to go to.

Sarah began walking away quickly, her shadow tailing her. She stopped and looked back at us when we didn't follow. "Are we going to go ask this Gaius or not?" it wasn't a question, it was a dare. The loss of Mason was taking its toll and it was showing. Sarah was getting testy, and frankly, so was I.

Nodding my head, I grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him along. Sarah then slowed down her fast pace to wait for us, not knowing where Gaius' chambers were located in this castle.

"Gaius," Arthur declared as he walked in through the door without bothering to knock. I stayed close by his side, my heart thumping like a thousand drums.

The physician looked up from his work bench, though he was not working on anything. All that was there were empty potion bottles and a single book lying in front of him. When he saw that the prince was standing in his chambers he stood up quickly and bowed his head, remaining quiet. This was not the Gaius we all knew. Merlin being gone was already changing everyone.

"What can I do for you, sire?" he asked, his voice monotone.

"We need to know where the druids are. Can you give us the location?" Arthur asked very straightforwardly. There was a change in Gaius' expression as Arthur said the word 'druid.' It had taken the old man by sheer surprise that he was speechless.

He narrowed his eyes out of confusion. "Why do you seek the druids, My Lord?"

The prince looked down at me and I knew it was my turn to talk. I didn't want to tell him everything because I didn't want him to get in trouble, to be an accessory to treason, but I had to tell him something. "W-we have a plan to save Merlin, but we need the druids' help. Will you tell us where they are?" I asked, afraid that I already gave away too much.

Gaius looked down at the floor, shaking his head. "I cannot." Arthur shut his eyes out of anger, trying to control his temper. Sarah crossed her arms and I sighed. "It is not because I do not wish to, but because I do not know where they are. They are very mysterious and are very careful when it comes to their survival." He paused. "Wait. How can you save Merlin?"

Arthur nodded. "I understand. Thank you Gaius," he said, ignoring Gaius' question. Arthur turned his back to the physician who was looking more confused than ever. "Now how do we find them? Obviously, no one knows how to find them!"

I opened my mouth about to speak when Sarah stopped me. "Don't even say it, Jenny! We are not asking her for help! She's evil, or have you forgotten that?"

I shook my head. "She's not evil, at least not yet! If we can get her to connect her magic with Mordred, we might be able to find them."

"This will just end badly."

"Not if I can help it."

Sarah and I stared at each other for a moment. The prince standing next to me cleared his throat as he watched the door. Both of us turned our attention to who just walked in. There, standing in the doorway, was Morgana herself.

"Speak of the devil…" Sarah mumbled, staring intensely at the witch. The distrust was clear in her eyes, piercing at Morgana like daggers. I understood why my friend didn't trust the witch, but she wasn't evil yet. I had met Morgana before now so I knew her better, and I knew she would help. Despite the risks, this was our only hope, she was our only hope.

"Morgana," Arthur and Gaius both greeted at the same time. The ward looked scared, hating not knowing what was happening fully.

"We need your help," I said quickly. Morgana perked up at my words.

"No," Sarah glared at me, then back at Morgana. "We don't need your help."

I rolled my eyes. "Please, stop! This is the only way to save both Merlin and Mason. Don't you want that?"

She sighed, nodding her head and regaining control over her emotions. "Sorry," she mumbled.

Turning back to the frightened and confused ward, I took in a deep breath. "You know you have magic and you know you have a certain connection to Mordred. We need you to tap into your magic and make that connection stronger. It will help save Merlin. Do you think you can do that?" It all came out in such a rush and so straightforward that I wasn't sure that she understood or comprehended what I was telling her.

Morgana glanced at Arthur who nodded sternly. Her mouth began opening and closing with no sound coming out, no words spoken. Then again, no words were needed. She finally closed her mouth and nodded once, hesitantly.

Sighing with relief, we left Gaius' chambers. All four of us walked down the narrow hallways as I explained exactly what I needed her to do. I tried to tell her how we needed her to get Mordred to lead us to the druids so that we could go back farther in time to stop the gypsy from getting caught.

"But surely you cannot expect me to be able to turn back time," Morgana said dumbfound.

I shook my head. "That's why you need Mordred or someone from the camp to help you. You're not as powerful as Merlin-"

"Yet," Sarah grumbled. I glared at her.

"You're not as powerful as Merlin, meaning it won't be as easy for you. That's why someone will be with you to combine your magic with theirs," I explained. "I'm not totally sure it will work, but it's worth a shot."

Arthur turned the corner and walked into his chambers. I was last to walk in and shut the door tightly. Morgana sat down on the bed, holding the post as if her life depended on it. "I'm ready," she said shakily. I walked over and sat next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. It was almost pitch black in Arthur's room which hopefully was going to help her concentrate.

"Close your eyes," I instructed softly. She did so immediately. "Focus all your energy on Mordred, trying to contact him. Nothing else matters except talking to him." I quietly prayed that this would work. She became perfectly still, a statue that has remained unmoved for centuries collecting dust and becoming a priceless artifact.

Small sweat beads started to form on her forehead, her eyes squinting as if she was in pain. I looked over at Arthur. He was staring fiercely at his half-sister, worry clear in his features. Everyone and everything was quiet, no one dared speak a word out of fear of snapping Morgana out of her focus. Then again, we all wanted to speak to make sure she wasn't hurting.

Suddenly, the door violently swung open and in stepped Uther Pendragon himself. As the door boomed against the wall, Morgana's eyes snapped open, but they weren't her beautiful green color. No, they had flashed gold. It was so fast that I thought it impossible that Uther could have seen.

Apparently I was mistaken.

**A/N: I hope you liked it! Please, please, please review so I know how I'm doing. All types of reviews are more than welcome! Oh, and to all my fellow Americans who are reading, I wish you a happy Independence Day!**


	15. Fateful Sacrifices For Uncertain Futures

**A/N: May I present the 15****th**** addition to this Merlin fanfiction! Sorry it took a while. This channel had a Harry Potter marathon and I kind of got caught up in that. Huge HP fan here! Thanks to those who reviewed! Please everyone review, it makes me really happy and motivates me to write, believe it or not! And I'm sorry for the lack of Arthur/Jen and Merlin and Mason in these chapters, but I promise to keep you questioning everything! It will get better!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Merlin or any of its characters.**

Uther stormed inside the room in an instant, his hands shaking violently. Morgana and I stood up rigidly when we saw that the king was coming over to where we were. My heart stopped. I knew that I had just put Morgana in danger, asking her to use her magic in Uther's kingdom. It was suicidal almost, and now Morgana was going to face the consequences for my stupidity, I thought…

Instead of stopping to face his ward, he pasted right by her as if she was never standing there. Paying Morgana no attention whatsoever, he grabbed me with one hand, holding me by the throat. Uther drug me a few feet before I felt my head bang against the stone wall with a loud thud that made my eyes roll inside my head.

Morgana stood there just as shocked as the other two in the room, unable to move or speak. All I was able to do was look Uther straight in the eyes, trying as hard as I might to not show the fear he wanted to see oh so badly. Yes, at this moment he really was striking fear into the very core of my soul, but he would not get that satisfaction. I wouldn't let it happen, not in front of everyone.

"You," he hissed at me through his teeth, hand not budging or loosening from its grip on my neck. Uther's blue eyes were piercing into my own. "You," he repeated again, with more realization this time. "You, you," the king struggled for an adjective to add to the annoying 'you.' "You,"

"Me," I gasped out, attempting to show I wasn't afraid… attempting. His grip tightened, making sure I was not able to speak as easily. Now, I was gasping for breath. This wasn't going to end well, I was sure of it, and it seemed that Arthur thought so too. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand flash to the hilt of his sword.

I gulped.

"You're the same servant girl from before!" he yelled to himself. The king shook his head, returning to the situation at hand. "What did you do to my ward?" he boomed in my face. Morgana moved forward slightly only to be stopped by Uther's other hand. "Stay out of this, Morgana!"

"I-I," I gasped, not able to say anything else. His grasp on my windpipe was too strong for me to speak. Uther shook me, my head coming in contact with the wall once again. This time, I felt something warm and wet trickle down my head. A nauseating feeling kicked in and my stomach churned as a red substance began to drip on the floor; my own blood.

Arthur held out his sword, pointing it straight at his father, anger in his eyes. Uther did not notice this action his son had taken, not yet knowing that the Crown Prince himself was turning against the king. Perhaps, this was a good thing.

"She's bleeding! Let go of her!" Arthur bellowed at his oblivious father.

He continued to ignore Arthur's protests. "What magic did you use on Morgana? Reverse it, witch!" Uther roared loudly. I tried to talk again, but was unsuccessful.

Slowly, I was being choked to death. Everything was getting foggy. No longer could I make out every single one of Uther's features or hear every crystal clear syllable he was shouting at me. In fact, I couldn't make out most of anything he said after that. What was that about a t-storm? No, that doesn't make sense.

Then suddenly air washed back into my deprived lungs. I landed hard on my tailbone, hand massaging my neck. Once again my vision was clear and what I came to see sent electricity up my spine.

It was truly a ghastly sight; Arthur was fighting Uther, yelling at him through gritted teeth. The only thing I was able to make out was "doesn't matter" and "ignorant ruler." My attention immediately turned to Morgana who was in the process of having a panic attack. She caught my eye and held it, but I forced my focus from her to see about Sarah.

She was standing by the table, watching in pure horror at what was unfolding. None of this made any sense. Had the future been changed so much that things were being altered even back here? Wait, that didn't make a whole lot of sense either.

Once again Morgana caught my eye, this time determined to tell me something. I quickly stumbled my way towards her, rubbing the back of my tender head. When I pulled it back, my skin was no longer ghostly pale, but a bright crimson flush that had me gasping.

"Jen, Jen," Morgana panted, terror in her green eyes. "Mordred, he's waiting for you. In the forest," she paused. "You must go quickly!" Morgana urged.

"No, I can't leave…" I trailed off as my eyes followed Arthur and the king. The royal battle quickly migrated more towards the table where Sarah was stationed. Uther's sword had moved faster than I had intended. "Sarah, move!" I shouted as loud as I possibly could, but the girl was paralyzed on the spot.

Not one bone in her body moved until Uther's immensely sharp blade missed Arthur by inches, digging hard into her right side.

"Sarah," I screamed as she removed her hands from the wound revealing a deep gash that was bleeding out. In less than a second, she was on the floor, gasping and panting to breathe through the pain of the stab wound Uther didn't even bother to notice he had inflicted. Blood trickled from her mouth and in that moment I knew that I had lost yet another friend to Uther Pendragon.

I turned back to Morgana, but she had focused all her attention on yelling at the two battling it out. "Morgana," I panted, in between my tears. "Mor_gana_," I tried again when she did not respond. More and more tears were streaming through my eyes and I was powerless to stop them.

At long last, she faced me. "Go, you must meet Mordred. Do whatever you can to undo what's been done, for Merlin." It was those last two words that she said to me that got to me: '_for Merlin._'

In that same moment that those words echoed in my head along with the image of Uther killing my best friend that I heard a whisper of a familiar voice telling me to do one thing and one thing only; _"Run,"_

It sounded so real, yet, so fake as if it could be inside my head or right next to me. I was not sure as to which was right, but I did know who it was; Merlin. Don't ask me how. It might have just been my imagination seeing as I spent so much time with him, I've got to know his personality and tone of voice, that I just hear what he would say to me even when he is no longer present on this earth?

I knew not.

Arthur tripped his father and turned around to look at me. "Jen, run, now," he ordered. There was something in the way he looked at me that made me think he had heard the mysterious voice I had guessed to be Merlin's. This new theory had my head practically spinning. How was any of this possible?

"Just now after you've seen just about everything you can see that's impossible, you are _now_ asking how this is possible. Really, Jen, really?" that annoying voice in my head asked me. This wasn't the time to be questioning anything, actually, and I knew this. This was the time to act, not just speak. Actions speak louder than words.

"_Go, now!"_ the Merlin-like voice insisted again. This time, I knew it was now or never. Quickly I dashed out of the room, leaving the body of my best friend, a 'ticking time bomb' if you will, and the love of my life to face his possible death back in that dreaded room which was now becoming a battle ground.

In my haste, I nearly ran into a knight I scarcely remembered. "Pardon me, My L-" he paused to examine the back of my head. "Let me get you to the court physician." He insisted. It happened so quickly that I didn't have time to react.

"No," I barked. He stopped, confused with my refusal to accept his assistance. "Sir," I started.

"Leon," he informed me.

"Sir Leon, I don't need a doctor, okay! I'm in a big hurry right now!" I said with tears gushing out of my eyes and my voice went high pitched. "Y-you just get to Arthur's chambers as quickly as possible!" I panted as more tears came trickling down my cheek.

"My Lady, why-?" Leon began.

I looked up darkly at him. "Do you want your king and his heir to come out of that chamber alive or dead, Sir Leon?" The knight's eyes went wide and he turned on his heal. "Wait," I called and thankfully he stopped again. "Do you know who captured the gypsy woman?" This was my last chance, the last bit of information I needed to know. He was a knight, could he know?

"I was the one. Now, excuse me…" Leon ran off towards the scream Morgana just cried out. I shuttered to think of what just happened and I was not going to go find out.

So Sir Leon was the one who caught the gypsy? He was the one I had to stop? _"Great, he looks easy to take down."_ I thought sarcastically to myself. Once again, I took off at a full-speed run out of the castle, careful not to trip over anything or run into anyone else, though I did receive a lot of curses and scowls from my by passers.

At long last I made it out of the courtyard, market, and the gates of Camelot. I ran straight to the edge of the forest where I was supposed to be meeting Mordred, though I started to wonder if this information was accurate…

The bush next to me rustled, causing me to practically jump out of my skin. Out stepped a black haired boy with crystal blue eyes wearing a green cloak. His boyish features were emotionless until his rose petal lips curved into an evil grin.

"Hello, Jen," Mordred chimed.

**A/N: Not so much of a cliffhanger this time. Please review! I want to know how I am doing. If I get five reviews I will update in two days!**


	16. The Spell

**A/N: Two days, just like I promised! Thanks for all the lovely reviews and alerts! Reading them made me smile! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I sadly don't own Merlin or any of its characters. I only own Jen and the other OC's I had made up.**

I took in a deep breath as I stepped cautiously forward to see the druid boy up close. He removed his green hood and held out a tiny hand. Not knowing whether or not to take it, Mordred moved closer to me and grabbed my wrist gently.

"You wanted my help, remember?" he teased. I did not appreciate his lighthearted banter. I got that it was kind of a double standard; me not helping him, but asking for his help. But Mordred knows how important Merlin is to the world, I think, so maybe that balances things out ever so slightly. Besides, Mordred wanted my help for evil purposes. I need his help for good purposes. This thought calmed my conscious.

"Right," I breathed, allowing myself to be tugged away, deep into the forest, no longer able to see the solemn Camelot castle. I was too overwhelmed to pay a lot of attention as to where the boy was taking me to. It didn't matter, I suppose. At this rate, would I ever be able to save Merlin or Mason, or Sarah all on my own…?

"_You are alone,"_ I thought to myself. That realization exploded in my brain; at the moment I was without Arthur's love and sword skills; without Merlin's joking personality and magic; without Mason's determined attitude; without Sarah's classy manner. Things were going to be difficult, but I was ready to face whatever evils it takes.

Evil number one: Mordred.

The two of us walked in silence. Me, too depressed to speak a word, and Mordred seemed to already know where he was going and why I had to seek out his help in the first place. It didn't seem necessary to really talk. I had nothing to say to him other than 'where are you taking me?'

We had walked what seemed like forever, stepping over tree limbs and twigs that threatened to catch my foot and make me collapse in a puddle of dark brown mud lying silently on the ground, waiting for a klutz like me to humiliate.

It had grown dark before Mordred stopped in the middle of a clearing. He looked up at me. "We had to move after… after our location was discovered." He explained. I shuttered at the memory of being trapped at their little camp. Going back was the last thing I wanted to do, but it had to be done and I knew this better than I knew how to say the ABC's.

Mordred closed his eyes, mentally talking to someone from the camp. I couldn't hold a question in any longer. "Where's Cameron?"

Those big blue eyes shot open, looking at the ground. Unmoving, Mordred spoke, "There is a reason I'm helping you without making you giving me the information I want first, Jen." I gasped at his words. A thousand different emotions must have cross my face. I was about to ask what happened to him, but then Mordred smiled slightly. "You don't need to ask that question. I think you already know the answer."

"How did you…?" I began to ask, but stopped. My expressions always gave me away. There's no way he could read my mind, could there be? I wouldn't put it past him. "_He is Mordred after all and a druid, not King…"_ I was thinking, but then stopped. If he was reading my mind, he didn't need to know that he's supposed to be Arthur's son. I don't want to give him any diabolical ideas that could bring down Camelot.

Yes, I know that's changing the future too. Ugh, this stuff is so complicated!

Suddenly, a hooded man stepped out from behind the trees lining the clearing. The man looked up from the ground to reveal his face. His tanned features made him look even more sinister in the dark of night causing all the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end.

"This is the Jen you speak of?" the man asked, his voice husky. I looked down at Mordred who nodded once. "Well," he said looking me up and down. "Not what I expected in the least." It wasn't a compliment.

"Grada, she is our last option. Please, give her a chance!" Mordred begged.

"Why must it be her? Where is Emrys?" this Grada demanded.

I held in the tears that threatened to come at the mention of Merlin's other name. "He's dead," I said as bravely as I could muster up. If I doubt myself and so does a druid then I must prove that I can do this. Step one; at least sound determined.

Grada cocked his head. "Dead," he repeated. I nodded once as I saw Mordred smile out of my peripheral vision. What could he possibly be smiling about? "And just why should I believe that?" Grada said with a menacing stare.

Anger erupted inside of me. "Because it's the truth," I shot back at him. His expression remained unchanged. "Emrys is dead and so is his descendant. If there's no Emrys, there is no King Arthur which means the future changes." The tone of my voice even surprised me. It was strong, not weak like I was feeling.

"What makes you so certain?" Grada asked.

"Grada," Mordred finally spoke. "Jen has been here before. She is the one who has come from the future. We need her to save Cameron… and Emrys." For once, I was happy to be with Mordred.

"You see? Even Mordred knows I can help. He's very important for your _future_ plans, correct?" I challenged, trying to hint that I already knew what evil Mordred will commit. Grada seemed shocked by what I already knew. Although, this emotion only subtly showed on his face, I could tell it was there.

"My apologies, My Lady," Grada gestured for us to follow him.

Taking in a deep breath and smiling down at Mordred, I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. The druid boy beside me no longer seemed as deadly as I once thought him to be. Perhaps it was because I knew that he needed me just as much as I needed him right now. If I didn't have him-or vice versa-I would never be able to save Merlin and Mason and Sarah… and Arthur. Just like if Mordred didn't have me, he couldn't save Cameron, though I don't know why he can't go back in time…

I made a mental note to ask Mordred-if I survive that is-why I had to be the time traveler in the situation. He was magical after all. I was just a regular college girl that made a wish and found herself in the place she always wanted to be. And other than falling in love with a man who's supposed to marry someone else, I've not really made much of a positive impact in Camelot. Come to think about it, falling in love with the Once and Future King isn't such a positive thing… At least not when you are friends with his future wife and may have just messed up their relationship or stopped it from happening altogether.

The druid Grada stopped abruptly almost making me trip over my feet. I looked around to see nothing special, nothing that differs this clearing from the other one, or any other clearing in these dark woods. There were just trees, moss covered, just like every other tree. But for some strange reason, Grada chose to stand in the middle of this particular clearing like it had symbolic markings and a magical aura all around it. Then again, for all I knew, it probably did.

"Aren't we going to your camp?" I asked before thinking.

Grada looked at me sternly. "No, the last time we made that mistake we were forced to move. We shall be performing the spell here. My brothers and I have magically protected this sacred circle; burying amulet in each of the five points of the pentagram." He explained, gesturing mystically in certain spots. A new list of questions began forming inside my head. "You look confused."

That was my cue to ask. I may not get another chance. "How do you know what my plan is?"

Mordred pulled on my dress sleeve. "Morgana," he said and tapped his temple. "You want to go back and stop the knight from capturing Cybil, the gypsy."

I nodded. Good, at least they were briefed. "Why did you have to protect this area?"

This time, Grada answered. "With this spell, your body does not get transported back. Your spirit does. Oh, don't worry," he said when he saw my frightened expression. "You will have a body once you are back. We don't want anything… to happen to your lifeless body once you're out of it. Lost souls could find it, things get very complicated."

"_Oh, nothing to be worried about!"_ I thought sarcastically. I gulped and moved on to another question. "How do I get back… into my body once I've done what I went back to do?"

He shook his head. "It is a part of the spell. Once you have fulfilled your purpose you will be brought back immediately. If you do not come back once you think you are done, then you still have unfinished business to deal with, even if that business is not your initial reason." This explanation didn't make me feel any better. The thought of not coming back exactly when I'm done did not charm me. I didn't want to get sidetracked at all by other things that aren't as important. Damn that so called 'greater purpose' or 'fate' or anything else that could have something totally different in store for me. I was going back for one reason and one reason only. I save Merlin and Camelot, I save the future.

"Why did you have to make a pentagram?" I asked, feeling a little dumb, as if I was asking an obvious question.

Grada rolled his eyes. "We need the Earth's energies to conjure up enough magic to perform such a spell. It may not have been difficult for Emrys to come back, but we are not him."

"Alright," I said, satisfied as I could ever be with the answers I got. "Let's do this."

"There is one more thing." Grada said quickly. "Do not give too much away. Try to not be seen too much. Mingling with your past-self could be costly." I had a sudden flash back to one of the Harry Potter books…

"So where's my timeturner?" I muttered too low for either of them to hear me.

"You are ready?" he asked.

I nodded.

"You are positively sure?" he asked again, and I began doubting that I really was ready.

"Yes, stop asking!" I barked, getting frustrated by his lack of confidence.

Grada nodded once and took a step back. Mordred did the same and went to stand next to the druid. They took each other's hands and closed their eyes. Grada began to mutter under his breath so low that I could barely tell that his lips were moving at all. Return

"_Sende __híe æt se __ærdæd sumorlida __æt becuman innan híe afol hwonne se gefeccan cennestre becuman stycce"_ His voice grew louder and louder with each word of the spell he spoke. The second he finished the spell the first time, a green flame erupted from one point. It began making a straight line to the next point in the pentagram and repeated this until the star was outlined fully, leaving me in the middle pentagon. The flames put the green moss to shame with its radiant color. It was magical, literally.

Then Mordred joined in on the spell and I felt myself getting light headed, like my soul was trying to escape my body. It was almost as if something was pulling it out through my mouth- not a pleasant feeling.

I could no longer hear Mordred and Grada's chanting as I was too centered on trying to stay alive to be paying them any attention. Suddenly, the wind picked up which blew the flames, aiming the white-hot fire towards the middle where I was struggling to stand. I could feel the fire licking me, though for some reason it was not the feeling I was expecting.

Actually, it was warm, not burning, and I embraced it. This unfortunately, made me lose my balance somehow and my legs collapse from underneath me. I hit the ground, my head thumping against the hard dirt below me. I was able to open my eyes ever so slightly only to want to shut them again.

There was a white, shining mist escaping through my mouth, but I was unable to shut lips to keep it from coming out. The spell's words grew louder and louder until it was the only think I could concentrate on.

And then I was out like a light, soul no longer in my body.

**A/N: Just to let you know, the spell is in Old English, saying 'send her to the past only to arrive back in her body when the quest has become complete.' I got it from an online translation place, so I don't know how accurate it really is.**

**Oh, please tell me what you think? It means so much! Have a great day!**


	17. My Journey Back Even Farther

**A/N: Thanks again to those who reviewed! It means so much! If I get 5 reviews again I will update in two days! Reviews give me the inspiration to write, so please tell me what you think :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin or any of its characters, only Jen and my other OC's.**

Suddenly, the darkness that engulfed me was no more and I could see a light. It was dim and almost like looking through a waterfall, not knowing what the strange shapes on the other side were. I was unable to feel my arms or legs, as if I didn't have a body. I squinted my eyes trying to see past the drops of water, but I could only make out something that was green.

The water began to clear up and I was able to tell that I was at the edge of the forest looking out on a field of wild grass. I was able to make out three shapes; two were clearly adults, the other was a child who I guessed must be Mordred. Were Cameron and the gypsy the other two figures?

Finally, the water cleared up completely and I could feel pins and needles in my limbs, regaining feeling in them. I let out a sigh of relief now that I knew I did have a body. Patting my legs to make sure I wasn't imagining things, I looked closer at the figures to find that they really were the three people I had guessed they were.

As quickly as my short legs could carry me in these medieval dress slippers, I ran towards Mordred, my hopes perhaps a little too high at the moment. His face became more comprehensible as I got closer to them. My thoughts were racing, wondering what on earth I was going to say when I finally caught up with them.

I had to think quickly because I could hear the knights heading towards the unknowing three. At last, I was able to muster up the courage to yell at them, taking the chance of Leon hearing me. It was my only hope if I wished to save… well, everyone on the planet.

"_Yep, no pressure,"_

"Mordred," I tried to yell out, but my voice didn't echo like I was counting on it to do. He just kept walking quickly, not stopping to look behind him. And so I tried again, "Mordred!"

Once again, he didn't hear me and my hopes were sinking rapidly. I was still too far away from him and I wasn't going to be able to catch up either. I only had one other choice and it was one I was none too happy about. It was going to get complicated, I was afraid.

I had to go and stop Sir Leon from getting to the gypsy.

And for some extremely strange reason, I had a feeling that he wasn't going to be so cooperative. There was only one way to find out, and I was going to find out any second now. He was getting closer and closer with every passing thought that zipped through my head. By now I could make out his face and I wanted to hide, to just wake up in my bed and everything was okay. No one was dead and the world, past and present, was back on track.

Oh, who am I kidding? That's as farfetched as Arthur losing a sword fight.

Leon and the other knights were getting closer. Mordred, Cameron, and the gypsy had spotted them by now and were running for it. The knights had picked up their pace as well, almost to the spot where I had stopped running.

Just a few more steps…

"Hey," I called as I stepped out of the trees' protection. Leon looked at me for a second, all business. "I need help! The fate of Camelot is at stake!" I wondered for a second if that was the best thing to have said, but there was no going back. What's done has been done, what's said has been said.

Leon looked at the knights. "Make sure you catch those druids. I'll deal with this." He ordered. The others obeyed without question, leaving just him and me. "What are you talking about, My Lady? Perhaps you should seek an audience with the king…"

"No," I said quickly. He looked puzzled by my reaction. "I mean… I must only talk with you. This is a dire situation and the king will be too slow to make a decision." I defended, thinking that was kind of dumb to say. Boy, do I wish I had Sarah's acting skills right now. She could talk her way into everything and out of every tight spot.

"My Lady, if Camelot is at stake then we must speak with the king immediately," he said becoming even more confused than ever.

"Sir Leon, this can_not_ wait! You need to call the knights off those three druids. The real problem is on the horizon." That was when I had to come up with the most realistic lie I could possibly think of. "An army of brutal sorcerers is threatening to attack Camelot when the kingdom is at its weakest. If you focus your attention on the druids, then you are only helping the enemy, not Camelot. By all means, tell the king about the army, but please don't capture those druids. If you do, you could also capture Camelot's downfall, Uther's downfall." I took in a deep breath. It had taken all my energy to not slip up and stutter throughout my little story. My facial expressions had been carefully monitored by me, making sure my words fit right with how I was reacting. Apparently, Leon believed my lie because his eyes were going as wide as saucers.

"Do you know where this army is located?" he asked quickly. I crossed my arms.

"First, you're going to need knights," I reminded him, nodding my head towards the ones chasing… only the gypsy. Where had Mordred and Cameron gone to?

The knights quickly seized the gypsy who had fallen down to the ground and returned to Sir Leon, pleased with themselves. "Let her go," he instructed the shocked men. "We have bigger problems to deal with." The knights remained unmoved, getting under Leon's skin. "Now," he barked louder. To my relief, they dropped her letting her stumble back to earth with what appears to be a sprained ankle. Leon turned back to me. "Do you know where they are at?" he asked again.

I nodded once and turned around, pointing to an unbeaten path. "Beyond these trees off the path a few miles is their camp. They are in hiding; I only spotted them on my journey back to Camelot. They were none too pleased about me listening into the battle plans. These are brutal sorcerers. You must go quickly." He was about to protest when I cut in. "I shall inform the king. He should be expecting me already."

I must have looked like a reliable source because he seemed to believe my every word. Then again, I was still dressed like a Noble Woman, and people in this time would love to say they can believe every word from a person whose family has sworn loyalty to the king.

Luckily for me, Leon did not know that I am far from Noble.

All five or so of the knights raced into the forest hastily. I let out a sigh, glad to finally be alone with this gypsy. She looked up at me worried. I could see it in her eyes.

"Y-you," she said shakily.

"_Great, she recognizes me,"_ I thought sarcastically. I shook off her words. "Look, I need to get you out of here. What did Mordred want you for? What was he after?" I asked, only seeming to mystify her even more.

She cocked her head. "M-Mordred?" she asked, looking out into the distance. I nodded. "But isn't that the boy who kills…?"

"Wait," I shook my head. "He didn't tell you his name?"

Cybil narrowed her gaze. "The little boy, no, you are not telling me that innocent boy is…"

Nodding, I said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you. Did he tell you what he wanted?" I asked, determined to stop any other future plans that he may have that could lead Arthur to an untimely death.

"No, he didn't have the chance. What is this about? Where am I?"

I gulped. She didn't even know where she was? I swear the druids are the vaguest people you could meet! "Uh, you're in Camelot," I choked out, curious as to see how she was going to react to this strange and unbelievable news.

The gypsy blinked a few times. "I thought-"

"Jen," a small voice called to me. I looked up from Cybil to see Mordred and Cameron coming towards us fairly quickly. I saw Cameron's face break into a smile once he was close enough to be sure it was really me. Mordred came up to me, no emotion showing on his features. "What are you doing here? I thought you went back."

"I am, I mean, I did. I'm just… back… again," I said, confusing my own self. This was a very complicated thing to explain.

"How did you get the knights to leave Cybil alone?" Cameron asked after he helped the gypsy off the grass, balancing her on his shoulder so that she wouldn't fall again. "I've never seen anything like it. I thought she was doomed for sure."

If only he knew how true his words really were…

I scratched the back of my head. "Yeah, I kind of told Leon that he needs to stop focusing on capturing three people and start focusing on the army of sorcerers in the forest that want to attack," I explained awkwardly, but I was a little proud of myself for making up such a believable thing. It's too bad those kind of stories wouldn't work in my time. The only thing those stories would get me was daily visits to a psychologist.

"What army?" Mordred asked, narrowing his gaze.

I smiled. "Exactly,"

Mordred's red lips curved into a grin that touched his eyes. I could almost read his mind. _"Very clever,"_ was what I could just imagine him thinking right now. It seemed that I was right because he pulled me into a hug, and suddenly, I didn't have that same hatred towards this little boy anymore. I guess there really is good in everyone, even if it is very, very deep down.

"I need to get to Camelot," I said quickly as the boy removed his arms from around my legs.

"Why?" he asked.

"I told Leon that I would inform the king about the sorcerers. If I don't then Leon will know I was lying and they will try and capture you again," I explained to them. Cameron was the only one who seemed to approve of this idea.

"Alright, just be quick," he said. I nodded.

Mordred was shaking his head. "No, that's too dangerous. Jen could get caught! He may recognize her!"

I was touched by his concern, but I then had a horrible image pop into my head; Arthur Pendragon, lying in the middle of a bloody battlefield; his cold, dead, and lifeless body, like a fallen statue. His eyes were no longer the beautiful blue that sparkled when he smiled. They were glazed over, staring at nothing but the cloudy, grey sky above.

Immediately I snapped myself out of the thought. I couldn't think of that at the moment. There was too much at stake to think of what might happen. I needed to think of what will happen if I don't make sure I've covered my tracks thoroughly.

Smiling at the young druid, I said softly, "I'll be fast. I promise to just get in, get out."

Mordred looked at me sternly. "Fine, we'll wait in the forest. I have some questions that need answering."

His last words sent chills down my spine. What could he want now? Cameron gave me a sympathetic nod and helped the limping gypsy back into the dark safety that the trees offer. Mordred took one look back at me before he too went to wait.

I was on my own again and, for some strange reason, I knew it was best that way. I couldn't possibly involve anyone else in this crazy mission I was assigned to carry through. Things were just going to get more dangerous especially with Uther getting drawn into it, too. No one ever knew what that king would or could do to you if he doubted something about your story.

Walking quickly, I hastily made my way to the castle. When I reached the front gates the guards looked at me suspiciously and stopped me from entering. "Excuse me," I said politely. "King Uther is expecting me. I am here upon his request and I'm sure he will love to hear about the two guards at the gate that made me late to our meeting."

The lies were coming easier as the reality became clearer. I may not get back to the future-past in time or my future ever again if I didn't succeed in making sure no one tells Uther about Merlin.

Quickly the guards stepped aside to let me through. I nodded kindly, walking swiftly inside passing all of the carts that sold any food you could imagine. A few of the people manning the carts offered me a sample of their foods, calling me 'My Lady'. I was flattered, naturally, but passed them up every time. One man about my age even gave me a flower, bowing his head respectfully. I blushed and thanked him, then walked away.

At last I reached the entrance to the castle. Brushing the remaining flecks of dirt from my dress, I stepped inside, rounding all the right corners, walking up the correct staircases until I arrive at the mighty double doors that lead into the Great Hall. This was it. I was about to go and lie to the very man who could potentially have me killed for simply stepping foot in Camelot.

"Can I help you, My Lady?" the guard on the right of me asked.

I smiled, at last confident in myself. "I seek an audience with the king, immediately."

**A/N: Yay! Please tell me what you thought! Reviews mean the world to me. Good and bad are always welcome as usual!**


	18. Two Pointless Talks

**A/N: Thanks, you guys for reviewing! I'm sorry to say that I won't be updating very soon because I'm going on vacation. Please review this chapter! It would mean so much to get some feedback! Does it help that my birthday is a couple days away…? :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin, unfortunately, or Arthur. It's a very sad reality.**

The double doors opened for me and I stepped inside gracefully. My heart was beating like a thousand drums. It was so loud I was surprised that Uther couldn't hear it, or the whole court for that matter. When I laid my eyes on him, that cruel person that of whom I have grown to despise even more over these last few days, the blood was boiling. Suddenly, I didn't feel so bad about lying to him.

Uther Pendragon sat up straighter in his throne to get a better look at me. I stiffened as he spoke. "What is it that I can do for you?"

Taking in a deep breath, I began to speak, telling this lie as if it was the only thing true in the world. "My Lord, I was on my way to Camelot when my servant and I ran into a hidden army." I faked a gulp. "It was an army of sorcerers, sire. We heard everything they said, their battle plans and some of their strategies." I paused as I watched the king take in the news I had just presented to him.

"As to what house do you come from, My Lady?" he asked. Really, was that all he cared about, if I was noble or not?

"I come from the house of Lucan," I said with sheer confidence, hoping that he's heard of them. I couldn't believe he didn't recognize me.

Uther slowly nodded his head. "Yes, well, you won't mind if we make sure what you're saying is the honest truth. Pardon the paranoia, but we've had… forgeries recently." A smile broke out on my face just thinking of someone fooling Uther.

Swallowing, I said, "Of course, My Lord, that's understandable. Things are difficult in these dark times,"

"Indeed," the king mumbled. "You will be given a room for the night. By morning, we will have had your story confirmed." When he said 'story' my mind raced. Did he see right through me? Did Uther recognize me after all and he was just playing me? Stringing me alone until he found some reason to yell 'off with her head' and that was it? I was finished and the world was doomed?

"Of course, sire," I forced a smile, unable to make it look totally natural. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?" I asked, hoping the answer was yes so that he'd be even more occupied by catching this army and not notice all the magic going on in Camelot, or will be going on.

Uther stood up from his throne. "Actually, there is more I wish to know. Why didn't Sir Leon accompany you inside?" he asked.

No problem.

"I told him about the army and he and the other knights left immediately upon me telling them. They wanted to waste no time in protecting Camelot," I added quickly, hoping that was in Leon's character. Apparently, it was.

"Good, he shall be rewarded upon his return," Uther said lazily. I let out a sigh. "Tell me, what happened to this servant of yours?"

"Oh," I mumbled, letting my head shamefully fall as I stared at the stone floor. Slowly, I shook my head back and forth, letting a small tear drop.

The king sighed. "I am truly sorry for your loss. I'm sure he died with honor."

I nodded.

"Very well, you will be escorted to your room whilst we check your background," Uther insisted. A guard came to my side and walked me out of the Great Hall.

All the way to my room, I couldn't help wondering if the future had already been changed, could it really change that fast? Mason's disappearance happened gradually, not instantaneously. So does that mean the same thing for the future? Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing until I returned to my body. The thought of being out of my body made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

It was such a weird feeling knowing that you're in three places at once; in the future, the future-past, and here, in the present past. I got to thinking about if Arthur, Merlin, Mason, Sarah, and I were going to be coming back here anytime soon. When I did come back and saw the gypsy, it looked as if she had been there for ages. I could be wrong, though. Again, there was no real way of knowing.

The guard gestured for me to enter the room as to which we stopped by. I thanked him and maybe heard him saying something about me needing things, but I wasn't paying any attention to him. I just thanked him again and shut the door.

There was one way to get some… partial answers; the Great Dragon.

After making sure the coast was clear, I snuck out of the room I had just entered and down the hall. I slyly snuck around corners and down staircases until I reached the lowest level of the castle. There was the gate that I had opened so many times. I guess one more time wouldn't hurt. Quickly I opened it and practically ran down the long tunnel.

"Why, if it isn't the young time traveler, back so soon?" the dragon asked with a yawn, already waiting on the giant boulder.

I ignored him. "I need help."

He sighed. "Don't you all? What is it I can help you with?"

"I came back after something tragic happened, I came back to fix it. I haven't returned yet even though I thought I had succeeded," I babbled, fear creeping into my heart as I realized that I really _hadn't_ returned. Hadn't I done enough to stop this from happening? "I guess what I'm asking is; am I going to be coming back with Merlin and Arthur again?"

Even the dragon himself seemed confused by my question. "I am sorry, young time traveler, but I'm afraid you are not making sense. There you are, standing before me and you ask as to whether or not you are going to come back to this very place."

Ok, so even an overgrown lizard thought I sounded crazy.

Getting frustrated that this was taking too long, I rephrased the question. "Are Merlin and Arthur returning soon or not?" I snapped.

"That I cannot know,"

"But you're the one in the future who told us-"

The Dragon threw its head up into the air, letting out a cry which stopped me midsentence. In an angry voice, he spoke, "You should not inform me of anything that I will do in later times!" his voice echoed throughout the cave making the walls shake violently. "You should know that better than anyone! It is not safe for someone to know of the future the way you do, not in Camelot."

I rolled my eyes dramatically. "What about Mordred, the druid boy? Why did he want the gypsy woman?"

"The same reason he wanted you; to get information, leading to the fall of the Once and Future King," the dragon stated loudly. "Surely, this fact has crossed your mind."

It wasn't a question.

I nodded sheepishly. He still wasn't that much help, past, present, or future. Then, he lifted his wings, swirling the dust in the air. "Oh, no you don't! I still have questions," I shouted at him as he took off to the higher level of his prison. "Stupid dragons," I mumbled.

Well that was no help whatsoever, so I made my way back up the tunnel I had just come from not five minutes ago. When he hears something he doesn't like, he loves to simply fly away. It's aggravating to those who are searching for help, any kind of help there is! Hell, I'm so desperate right now, I might even go to Nimueh, and she's the one who traps Merlin! Then again, didn't he tell me that he killed her off...?

Oh, this is confusing!

I stopped thinking about the stories Merlin had told me when I first came here and continued to think about why I really hadn't gone back to my body yet. No, I couldn't have some path fate has set up for me. That would be a cruel trick and a horrid joke. I wasn't exactly in the joking mood at the moment.

"Fortune's fool," I quoted to myself as I made my way up the staircases and down the various hallways I had grown so accustom to. There was a window that peered out to the empty field and the rock that was the magical connection to the past and future. I stopped to gaze at it. It seemed so long ago that I had seen Merlin or Arthur, or any of my friends for that matter. It made me smile when I thought that Sarah was alive at the moment. That smile was wiped of my face when I remembered that she won't be if I go back too soon.

I wondered how quickly we had arrived after Leon had captured the gypsy and if I had changed anything yet. If the effects of the alter had been applied yet. Just then, the wind around the rock was picking up rapidly, creating a mini tornado.

Whoa, that can't be possible!

But it was. There were the five of us, all standing in a circle with locked hands.

**A/N: Muhahaha! A cliff-hanger! The best way to end a chapter before going on vacation!**


	19. Making Connections

**A/N: YAY! I'm back. I went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and had a blast! Best vacation/birthday EVER! Did anyone else see the Merlin season 3 trailer? If you haven't, then here's something to think about: Arthur with donkey ears! Anywho: here's the next chapter. I hope you all like it! You can always tell me what you think through a review… just click the little button at the bottom of the page! :)**

**Disclaimer: I only own Jen and Sarah and Mason. Not Merlin or Arthur, unfortunately.**

Shock overwhelmed me as I watched myself walk towards the castle alongside Sarah. Then my eyes shifted to Mason. A smile broke out on my lips, knowing he is alive at the moment. I looked at Merlin and my grin grew wider, touching my eyes.

All five of us were almost to the gates by now, and I started to wonder what was going to happen now that the gypsy woman wasn't caught. Wait, why haven't I been zoomed back to my body yet? My past self was here. Weren't there enough me's in this place? I couldn't let past me see me now, that could possibly spell disaster. Then again, there wasn't much more that could go wrong.

Gaius. He might know what to do. That old physician is the 'all-knowing Gaius' and surely just his words could comfort my panicking self.

Quickly, I hightailed down the stairs, heading towards the physician's chambers. When I got to the door, I forgot to knock and stepped right inside to see Gaius and a man sitting in a wooden chair, looking sickly. The man sneezed as I moved closer. I glanced quickly up at Gaius to see his wrinkled face frozen in pure surprise at the sight of me.

As I came even closer, I saw that the man had a red nose and he kept sneezing and sniffling. He looked up at Gaius, ignoring my entry. "Is there anything you can give me? Please, I feel awful and I cannot die now. I have a family to feed!"

Gaius was shaking his head and began fumbling through his medicine cabinets, looking for a particular potion. Oh, this was insane! I moved in front of the sick man and looked at him straight in the eyes. "You have the common cold," I said as I helped him to his feet, quite forcefully. Screw being polite in dire situations, no one was cutting me a break. As I helped him walk out of the room, I told him, "It's quite curable, just drink lots of orange juice and you're good!"

And I shut the door.

Did they even have orange juice in this time? Did Camelot even have oranges? Why am I even worrying about fruits? Ugh, annoyed with myself, I rush over to Gaius to make sure he wasn't going to have a heart attack or something. It was possible, I could tell. The look on his face was a mixture of different emotions: shock, surprise, curiosity, worry, and maybe panic.

"Jen," he finally choked out. "What on earth are you doing here? Where are Merlin and Arthur?"

I gestured for him to sit down, but he refused, wanting to just hear what was wrong. "Well, it goes like this. Arthur and Merlin are here, but not with me. This me, I mean. They are with me, just another me."

"Clear as mud,"

"Right," I mumbled. "Um, I traveled back in time even farther than this to save Merlin. See, originally a gypsy woman was captured…" I babbled on, explaining exactly what had happened. I said everything in such a rush that I was surprised he was able to keep up with me. If I had heard this story from myself, even I would think I was either, A) I was crazy, or B) I wouldn't follow any of it.

Gaius did eventually sit down. "You have to do something, get out of here somehow."

"How, I mean, the dragon won't help?" I asked, kicking into full panic-mode. "I have to get out of here without me seeing me, all the while trying to figure what in hell 'fate' has in store for me. I should have gone back already. My body needs a soul, Gaius!" I finished. The old man comes closer pulling me into a much-needed hug. I embrace it immediately and let a single tear fall before pulling myself together. "Thanks," I mumbled into his shoulder.

He patted me on the back and pulled away to look at me, my arms still in his unexpected strong grip. "Come now, you will get back. You did once before and you will again." My eyes fell to the ground. "That is, if you are wanting to," he added with that all-knowing grin he always had. Well, that's Gaius for you!

Deciding to ignore that last statement, I looked up into his wise eyes. "I know I will, but I don't want to change anything more than I already have in the process."

"I know, but maybe you are supposed to, or find out something more about yourself," he said. He did have a point. "You saved Merlin, but perhaps that's not all you came back here to do. You may need saving, yourself."

"What do you mean?"

Gaius' eyes brightened. "Jennifer, just because you and Arthur are very different in many ways doesn't mean that you cannot have feelings, or strong feelings, for each other."

I shook my head. "It's not that simple. There's Uther…"

"Don't worry about Uther," Gaius snapped gently, leaving me gaping at him. Did he really just say that? "It's what's in the heart that matters. Love can do powerful things, and Arthur loves you."

"But he's also thousands of years older than I am," I pointed out, not knowing why I am going against my feelings.

He shook his head. "In this time, you are two years or so apart."

"I know who he's going to marry, Gaius," I say finally. At this, he was unable to come across an argument to state. It was then when I knew I had stumped him. "I know about the good and bad of his marriage; who she is, what she does, and even how Arthur dies…" I trailed off, creating and unintentional dramatic effect. I didn't know why I brought up his death; it just kind of slipped out, unfortunately for me. "And I see that girl everyday when I'm here. It kills me inside to know that I'm getting in the way of that relationship from happening."

The physician sighed. "Jen, I cannot say I understand, because I don't." I smiled. "But I can say that his marriage is in the future-our future-and for now, he wants you not this other girl."

"But that's the problem!" I exclaimed.

Gaius patted me lightly on the back. "How do you know that you aren't supposed to change those ideas, and only then you can go back again?"

I lowered my gaze, my teacher's words echoing in my head. _"Jennifer, did you know that your name actually originated from the name 'Guinevere?'"_ he had said to me when I handed in my essay. Then I heard Arthur's words. _"How do you know that I'm not supposed to marry you?"_

Damn these vivid memories.

"I don't know," I whispered. Gaius gave me one more pat before gesturing towards the door.

"Go, do what is that you have to do. Just be careful," he warned. I knew this forewarning was sincere and I shouldn't take it lightly. I nodded and turned on my heel and walked swiftly down the narrow halls. I had a new-found confidence and I was going to take full advantage of it.

The Great Hall; that was where we were headed so that we could find out what happened to Camelot exactly and why destinies had been rewritten. I'm not totally sure why we went to the king, but we did. We had panicked!

I rushed in that direction, getting there just in time to see us walking in through the doors. I was curious as to see what was going to happen, what I had changed exactly, and slipped inside the doors when the guards were about to close them.

"Father," Arthur started. This was it; this was where Merlin got dragged away to the dungeons. "We've come here to warn-"

Uther held up a hand. "I already know about the army. Arthur, where were you?" he yelled, though there was relief in his voice. I let out a safe sigh, myself. Merlin wasn't getting pulled to his doom and I did it! Everything was going to be okay! Gosh, I hope I didn't jinx that…

Arthur was gaping and he and my past self exchanged looks. "Army?" he asked.

Uther narrowed his eyes. "Is that not what you were going to warn me about?" the king questioned, sitting up in his throne. I knew what I was thinking at that moment; the army is what destroyed Camelot. Great, did I just mess up again by trying to save the gypsy and Merlin and Mason and Sarah and everyone? This stuff is so complicated.

A word of advice; try to _never_ time travel with the intention of lying to save someone. It only backfires on you. Stupid karma…

"Um," Arthur started again. "Yes, that is what we were going to warn you about. I was just astonished that you already knew," he lied. The king slowly nodded, his eyes scanning the other four people standing behind his son.

His eyes rested on my past self and my heart skipped a beat. "You look familiar. Have you visited Camelot before, girl?"

"Typical of Uther to not remember a servant's face, even if that servant was the girl who was in love with his son," that annoying voice in my head called a conscience chimed up. There, I admitted it! I'm in love with Arthur Pendragon and nothing in the world could change that.

I looked at myself to see what was going to happen. I was panicking, I could tell. "Yes, My Lord, once before," No, say twice! He's not stupid, perhaps ignorant, but not totally stupid! He's going to know that he's seen you more than once, Jennifer Coldwell! This was so weird, mentally yelling at me as I watch me do dumb things. Wow, this is getting confusing.

The king just grunted and said loudly, "You're excused,"

I watched the five of us begin to walk out of the Hall. My past self scanned the people in the room, my eyes looking at me. Quickly, I lowered my gaze, letting my hair cover my face.

And so there I was outside Arthur's chamber door; my hand only inches from the wood, ready to knock if I would only had the will power to move my hand closer. Just then I heard footsteps coming towards the door from the inside and I moved backwards just in time to see my other self walk out. There was no way I was going to be able to see Arthur now! Seeing as I just left him!

I turn my back to his chambers and begin walking to my own room, the same direction that my past self was walking. I lowered my eyes to look at the floor. I heard Merlin greet past me as they past each other. I wasn't even going to bother with hiding. I was too depressed. Fate was trying to make this hard for me, wasn't it?

"Hey, Jen," Merlin greeted me just as he had before. I looked up, and smiled lightly, walking right by him without a word spoken on my part. Merlin's smile was wiped off his face and he froze on that spot. That's when I knew I had messed up, but things already were, so what's the difference?

Quickly, for some reason, I turned the corner and out of sight. "Didn't I just…" Merlin trailed off as he turned around to talk to me, though I wasn't there anymore. I had to stifle a giggle; his expression was priceless. He shook his head and put his hand up to his forehead, muttering something about going crazy and hallucinating.

I so badly wanted to run up to him and hug that warlock so tight, but that would be foolish and Gaius had warned me against such things. Well, at this rate, I was going to be figured out soon, but that wasn't this moment.

Deciding to save another mess-up for another day, I retired and went to my chambers for the night. In the morning I was determined to talk to Arthur. I wasn't totally sure as to what I was going to say to him, but I knew we had to talk no matter what- before I went back.

Sadly, I slipped into the bed Uther had leant me. It wasn't even dark outside, being only seven o'clock, but I was tired after this long day. One good night's sleep wasn't going to hurt me. At least, I was hoping it would be a good night. Everything seems to be difficult now, nothing easy.

The wrong things are usually easy; the right things are always hard.

That line lingered in my head for a while as I gazed up at the ceiling above me. The easy thing for me to do is stay with Arthur, to love him with all my heart until the ends of time. The right thing, though, would be to leave him in Camelot without me. To let him find Gwen and marry her, not me, which is what destiny has in store for the young prince and handmaid. Making that decision would be rather hard and going through with it would be near impossible. I knew that was the right choice to make, but still, something was holding me back, tugging at my heart which refused to let go of those strings until I would admit that I was the one he loved and would cherish for as long as we both shall live!

"I do," I muttered, finishing the wedding line. Could I really have fallen in love so quickly? Was it that simple? Everyone seems to think we're a packaged deal, maybe I should start directing my train of thought to go along with them. Perhaps, it is good to go against one's instincts, because right now they are telling me to stay the hell away from Arthur. But my heart is telling me to stay.

Finally, I allowed my eyelids to droop, putting myself into a deep sleep that was corrupted by dreams that could only be thought up during times of pure terror.

I was walking through the forest; my hand outstretched trying to reach for the air in front of me. My feet were moving one foot in front of the other knowing exactly where to go, which was good seeing as I was clueless as to where I was taking myself.

Suddenly, I stopped in mid step. I looked down at what I was wearing; a long, flowing white dress that left a train of fabric behind me when I walked. It was obviously expensive, which was a shame because the gown was severely ripped in many places all over. One of my sleeves was completely torn off while the other was hanging by only a thread. I examined more closely to see the rips better only to discover that it was also stained at the bottom. The red stain clashed with the pearly white fabric, making it stand out.

Slowly, the scenery around me changed, and I was no longer standing in the forest alone. No, now I was in the middle of an empty ball room that had tapestries hanging everywhere. The problem was that those tapestries were torn and shredded harshly. I looked towards the front of the room to see white roses placed neatly in hundreds of crystal vases. Only, they were stained with the same red substance. Quickly, I walked over to the flowers, touching the red liquid.

"Blood," I mutter. My hand flashes to the top of my head, touching matted hair that was at one point styled beautifully. Now, my hair was filled with dirt and most of it had come out of the many clips that had held my locks up on my head.

Just then I heard footsteps and my eyes raced to look at the door, my heart pounding. Merlin appeared from behind the double doors, a blank expression on his normally cheerful face.

"Jen, you need to come," he said blankly. I narrow my eyes, skeptical of this situation. But he gestured me onwards and opened one of the doors fully for me to get out. Uncertain about this, I marched over to him only to find him no longer there. Now I was confused.

Then there was a voice from out of the blue. "Jen, you must hurry! You're going to be late!" It was Sarah! What on earth…?

I follow her voice which leads me into a room, finding her standing with Morgana smiling at me brightly. I wasn't sure if I should smile back. Their smiles seemed fake, and it didn't fit them whatsoever.

"You mustn't doddle, now!" Morgana exclaimed out of character. This wasn't her, this couldn't be real. "You don't want to be late. This is an important day for the kingdom, you know this." Her words were too chipper, too positive. There was no way in hell this was the real Morgana.

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked when I finally found my voice.

In a high-pitched tone, Sarah laughed. "Silly, Jenny! Of course you know what is going on. Hurry along now, we're right behind you!" With that, both of them gently pushed me out the door and shoved a bouquet of flowers into my hands.

They escorted me out into what appeared to be the room I had just left not five minutes ago, but now it wasn't trashed. It was beautifully decorated and perfectly clear of any signs of blood. Quickly, I glanced down at my dress to see that it was no longer ripped and stained. It looked brand new, right off the rack. I looked back up to see what was in front of me.

I gasped.

There was Arthur, dressed in all his princely glory with his crown placed upon his golden hair causing his blue eyes to brighten. He had on his red, royal robes, ready for any fancy occasion. Merlin was next to him, dressed as normal; brown coat, red neckerchief, blue tunic. The warlock tapped the prince on the arm and he looked up, our eyes locking.

Suddenly, I found the strength to move my feet, one foot in front of the other, slowly making my way towards him. People in pews were staring at me, smiling.

Wait! White dress, flowers, fancy clothing… this was a wedding! My wedding! And I was marrying Arthur Pendragon! Could this really be happening? All my former thoughts of this not being real, of it being phony simply slipped from my mind as all I could think was, _"I'm finally doing this because I love him."_

At long last, I made it up to him, my smile wide with happiness. He took my hands in his and a man began speaking, but I wasn't listening as to what was being said. All I wanted to do, all I could do was gaze mesmerized in Arthur's ocean blue eyes as he gazed into mine.

"…to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for as long as you both shall live?" the man asked right as I tuned into what he was saying.

Arthur nodded. "I will,"

The man repeated the same lines to me, and I was up. It was my turn to say those two words that sealed my love's fate… but I couldn't speak. My voice was gone. My mouth was open and I was trying with all my might to just say _something_, to make some kind of noise. Yet, still nothing came out.

Arthur's face fell and I wanted to scream out to him, to tell him that I just am unable to speak! Of course, I wasn't able to do just that. Even groaning was out of the question.

Unexpectedly, there was a crash and the two doors came bursting open, flying against the walls like twigs. There was a man standing there, that was obvious, but I was unable to see his face because of all the smoke he had created.

A wind flashed by me and I turned my head to follow it, only to see Arthur with an arrow in his chest. The prince fell to the floor, landing in his own pool of blood which was gushing out rapidly. No one moved, no one dared to speak. It was as if the world was still, all except for Arthur who had fallen victim to this mysterious, uninvited guest of ours.

I crashed to the floor to be beside him, holding my hand to his wound not knowing what to do. Glancing up at Merlin, I wanted to yell, "It's your destiny to protect him! Why didn't you do anything?" And to my relief and utter shock, the words flowed right out.

Merlin stood there, his arms lazily at his sides, and shook his head. "This wasn't my fault. You haven't yet learned."

Just then, he vanished into thin air, like smoke blowing away in the wind. I looked around and everyone in the room was smoking away as well. Panic took over and I turned back to Arthur afraid he was going to disappear, too.

"What does that mean?" I sobbed into my hands, my eyes shut tight.

Arthur began to speak and my eyes flashed open. His mouth was barely moving, but I knew it was him. "This was a mistake," and then, Arthur was gone. All that was left was his ring, the ring that would have sealed our marriage, binding us in holy matrimony.

He was gone.

And there was nothing I could do about it.

I looked upwards to see that we were no longer completely inside the Great Hall. We were still on the stone floor, but the walls had been reduced to ruins and the ceiling was stripped away so that you could only see the cloudy skies above. "Why are you doing this to me?" I screamed in between my cries of agony.

It couldn't be a mistake! It just couldn't! He died before I ever got to really tell him everything, before we were married. What was the mistake exactly? Was meeting me the mistake, our relationship…? My heart tightened as I tried to hold back the tears that came relentlessly.

I broke down into sobs, clutching the ring in my hand as it burned a whole in my heart. My dress was once again ripped and blood stained, though I wasn't sure how it got that way. My eyes were shut tight, not wanting to see anything or anyone apart from Arthur who was dead and long gone.

My eyes opened as my tears seemed to run out. Realization kicked in as well; I had lost him and didn't have time to tell him that I want to stay with him no matter what. That I love him and I still do, which will never change no matter how many years apart we are.

The clouds above me started to rumble and lightening struck as the rain poured down. The bolt hit just inches from me, causing me to scream. Then there was another flash. The lightening was boxing me in from all angles. The only other point left was…

And it struck in the middle. It struck me, sending thousands of shock waves through my body. I knew death was here for me, it was my time to join Arthur.

I woke up with cold sweats, my brow on fire. Bolting up right in my bed, I saw that I wasn't in a fancy wedding dress at all, but still in the clothes I had worn the previous day. I felt the top of my head. My hair was down, resting against my back like it normally was. No elegant hairstyle to see there.

Letting out a sigh of sheer relief, I got up from my bed, knowing exactly what I had to do. There was no way in hell I was going to be stopped. I was determined.

**A/N: Wow, a lot of angst in this chapter! Not to worry, Merlin and Arthur will have a bigger role in the next chapter, have no fear! Tell me what you think, please! It's much appreciated!**


	20. Decisions

**A/N: Wow, I'm so sorry it took so long for this update! School has been going on for me and all I have been doing is homework, essay, test, and repeat! This year has been very busy so far, but I have been writing this chapter for a while now, wanting it to be perfect. In the meantime, I figured out how this story shall end! Hopefully everyone shall be pleased with this chapter and the rest of the fanfiction. I have kept up with season 3 and may I saw, it is AMAZING!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin, no matter how much I wish I did…**

As quickly as my wobbly legs could carry me, I made my way out of my chamber, down the hall, and found myself face to face with Arthur's wooden door… again. Silently, I took in a deep breath before lifting my arm, letting it just hang in midair. I balled my hand into a fist, my knuckles going white.

"Déjà vu, huh, Jen," the annoying voice in my head chimed. I ignored it, though, for this task needed my full concentration. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't knock on his door for the life of me. Horrors washed over me as I realized what I was about to do. It was selfish, but I must talk to him.

My choice was made.

Quickly, I forced my frozen hand to move forward and lightly pound on the wood. From inside, I could hear faint footfalls before the door slowly swung open.

There Arthur stood, his blond hair sticking out in every direction. His blue eyes were droopy, but once he looked down and saw me, they grew three sizes. Without thinking, I flung myself into his bare chest, putting my arms around him as if I'd die if I were to let go.

"What's wrong? What are you doing here?" he asked, embracing my emotional hug. He squeezed me tighter as I buried my face in his shoulder, listening to the sound of his smooth voice.

Reluctantly, I pulled back to face him. I knew I needed to answer his questions or he would worry even more. Looking up into his anxious eyes, I took in a deep breath and put up a fake smile to try and calm his nerves… and mine.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see you," which was the partial truth. I did want to see him, I needed to see him.

Arthur looked at me suspiciously. "In the middle of the night you had to see me?" I was taken aback by his words. Not because of his shock of me wanting to visit, but because of another reason. Quickly, I glanced through the door to Arthur's window. Sure enough, it was black as night outside. "I thought you said you were tired," his voice snapped me back.

"What?" I asked, confused by his comment.

"You told me this afternoon had taken a lot out of you. That's why you retired early. You walked off muttering something about Tylenol," he grinned. My lips curved up into a partial smile. That must have been what Past-Me had told him earlier. Oh, why didn't I think this through before coming?

"Jennifer, why did you come, what's really on your mind?" the prince asked with pure seriousness, all traces of humor drained from his features.

"It's just…" I trailed off, but he pressed me to continue. "It's just that I'm so happy everything is alright, and you're here, with me, alive," I babbled. Immediately, I regretted my last few words.

Arthur chuckled. "Of course I'm alive! You won't tell me how I die!"

I beamed up at his glowing face. "And I refuse to let that fact slip," I teased, getting up on my tip toes to crush my lips against his.

"You do realize you're denying the Once and Future King vital information," he pointed out, pulling me into his chamber and stuffing the door behind us.

Laughing darkly, I responded, "You're not king yet. You don't even have _the_ sword," I scoffed, ignoring his comeback of;

"I have a sword."

"The point is," I started, still smiling brightly, "we don't need to worry about it for a _long_ time, Arthur Pendragon."

The prince was taken aback which left me in a shock. "We?" he asked. "I highly doubt you're going to be worried about something that already happened for you."

I shook my head and looked deep into his eyes, "Who says I'm going to be in my time?" _'At all, ever again,'_ I mentally added. So badly I wanted to drop this depressing subject and Arthur seemed to agree, for he smiled charmingly and pulled me closer. I didn't need to be foolish by worrying about what happens decades from now. I mean, it's not like Arthur's king yet, so there's no need to fret-at the moment-about his killer…

"Mordred," someone exclaimed sternly. Gasping, for I believed I had begun to speak my thoughts aloud, I whirled around to see Merlin standing in the doorway panting. Emotions washed over me as I wanted desperately to run up and hug him like I was unable to do before.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, ever hear of knocking?"

The warlock brushed off Arthur's usual question and shook his head. "No, Mordred is here." Merlin then froze and his eyes shot to mine, seeing me for the first time. A sly smile crossed his face, gesturing with his pointer finger between Arthur and me. "What are you two…?"

It was then when I realized I had left Mordred and Cameron in the woods hours ago. Merlin's smile was still there when I snapped, "Never mind that," thought I was blushing. "Is Mordred in Camelot Castle?" To my horror, he nodded. Without knowing, I clung to Arthur even tighter, unable to let go of his warm, bare, muscular arm. Was this it? Was this some sort of sign telling me it's time to go back?

But it can't be!

"What's the druid boy doing here in Camelot?" Arthur exclaimed.

Merlin shut the door, making sure no one would hear, for if they did it would mean certain death for Merlin and me, and then we'd be right back to where we started; no future, no Merlin.

Wow, if history repeats itself, fate has one sick sense of humor.

Then I knew who we needed to speak with, but I really wasn't in the mood for riddles. He wouldn't tell us anymore anyway, I had a feeling.

"He's not alone. There are two others with him. I'm not sure who the man is, but the woman looks very familiar," Merlin commented scratching his messy black hair.

Crap, the gypsy was still here? Then again, I strongly doubted Mordred would have sent her back. If he wants something, he'll fight like hell to get it. This made me even more frightened of his actions…

Yes, it does seem rather silly to be scared of a kid half your age, but when you know what powers he possesses it's a whole new set of what's silly and what's practical.

"W-we should go meet him," I stuttered. Both boys' heads shot over to look at me. "Well, we can't very well have them running about, especially with Uther's suspicions about… well, everyone."

Arthur nodded. "She's right," he stated bluntly and opened a cupboard door. The prince-unfortunately-pulled on a thin, tan shirt, and then slipped on his leather boots. Just before we all slipped out the door, Arthur grabbed his sword receiving an exasperated eye roll from both Merlin and me.

As quickly and quietly as we possibly could, the three of us sneaked out of the castle. To our utter misfortune, two guards were patrolling the abandoned court yard.

"_Trusblia_," I heard Merlin mutter, watching his eyes flash from ocean blue to a fiery gold. The door that the guards were standing around flew violently open, startling the men. Without a second thought, the two ran into the door after the 'person.'

I wasted no time and pushed open the ajar, castle doors. Arthur and Merlin were right on my tail; Arthur taking my hand in his.

There was the sound of footfalls and we all froze in place.

"Jen," I heard my name being called from the direction of the noise. Out from around a corner came Mordred, running towards me and flung into my arms. This took my by utter shock. He hugged me as his little arms would allow, smiling brightly up at me. "I was worried Uther caught your lie!" he exclaimed, turning around but not letting go of me. "Cameron, she's alright!" In that moment Cameron came silently, walking out from behind the corner as well, smiling. Mordred's warmness and concern towards me was a little off. Then again, he is still very young; could he be raised good by some miracle? Or was this act of befriending me just that: an act? So badly I wanted to truly believe he was good and give him the benefit of the doubt, but it was hard when you know what the future holds.

"We're glad to see you. We thought the worst could have happened," Cameron commented, turning his attention towards the boys. "Emrys, My Lord, it's an honor." He bowed his head.

"What lie is Mordred speaking of?" asked Arthur, pulling us back to the previous subject.

Mordred looked up at me, finally letting go but staying right by my side. "He doesn't know?"

Merlin stepped in as Arthur was on the brink of shouting at someone in annoyance. "What don't we know?" he asked calmly.

"Jen," Cameron said, just as confused as the rest of the group, for no one knew that there were two of me here. I could tell things were about to get complicated, that much was clear.

It was my turn to talk. I was supposed to spill all these secrets I had so carefully kept from my friends- for their own safety. Softly, I placed my hand on the top of Mordred's head and looked down at the druid.

"May I talk with you a moment?" I asked him kindly. The boy, though slightly perplexed, nodded and I looked at the three other pairs of eyes staring at us. "This will just take a second. It'll be fine, Arthur," I added when the prince looked like he was about to protest. I faked another smile in reassurance, hoping they would buy into my sly façade.

Before anyone could start asking questions again, I lightly pulled Mordred alongside me until we were out of earshot, but _not_ out of sight.

When the boy faced me, I bent down to his eye level. "Mordred," I said calmly. He smiled in response. "Could you do me a favor? Can you keep a secret?"

He rolled his eyes. "I've hidden from Uther, haven't I?"

I sighed and stood up. "Yeah, good point." I fiddled with my skirts for a few seconds before continuing, though I couldn't help but feel that it was pointless. "Alright look, I need your help and advice," I admitted. If that stupid, riddle-mouthed lizard would have given me a straight answer, I would _not_ have to be talking to his boy.

"On what, Jen?" he asked harshly. "You never gave me answers… or your help." His gaze dropped to the ground. It took all my energy to not tell him how I really did help him, how I saved Merlin which saves the future. Somehow I had saved Cameron, though I was unsure of how I had done that. As long as he was safe, that's what mattered.

"Mordred," my voice cracked. "Please, I'm asking this as a friend. I need you to send the gyp- I mean Cybil, back to 2010. If she gets caught by Uther, you could lose Cameron."

His big blue eyes went wide with shock which quickly turned into suspicion. "How do you know this?"

"Because that's what happens," I shot back immediately, hoping my instant response eliminated any doubt from his mind. His face fell, giving in. My heartbeat slowed and I sighed out of relief. "I want to prevent that, and to be able to I will need your help, Mordred."

He stared down at his feet, pondering seriously over my words before muttering quietly, "Cybil is at the edge of the woods. She didn't want to stay here and wait," he explained.

A smile broke out on my face, happiness washing over me. I could barely believe I had been able to convince this head-strong druid boy to do exactly the opposite of what he wished!

Just then, there was muttering, followed by a, "Hey! What are you doing out past curfew?"

The guards had spotted us.

I took Mordred by the hand and ran towards Merlin, Arthur, and Cameron who were encouraging us to run faster. I could hear the pounding of the guards' feet on the gravel. They were gaining on us quickly. We caught up to our trying-to-flee-the-scene group and Arthur grabbed my hand so I wouldn't fall behind the fast boys.

Mordred suddenly stopped, my hand still grasping his. I was forced to stop with him, which frustrated Arthur greatly. "Jen," he growled, but I remained unmoved with Mordred.

The boy stood on his toes and I bent down to hear what he had to say. "Come to the edge of the woods on the east by noon tomorrow. I'll help you."

I struggled to give him a one-armed hug because of Arthur pulling me vigorously to keep running. Mordred flashed me a slight grin before dashing off in the opposite direction with Cameron, avoiding the guards.

Quickly, I gave in and allowed Arthur to drag me along. I felt like a rag doll halfway to the castle, but was able to keep up with them once we hit the steps. Unfortunately, I tripped over my dress and blushed cherry-red. Merlin and Arthur rushed to both my sides, lifting me up by each arm.

"This is why I wear jeans!" I groaned once back on my feet, receiving a chuckle from both chivalrous boys.

We scrambled through the entrance and bustled up the steps. The loud footsteps of the guards sounded closer than ever. Arthur peeked around the corner. Merlin and I stayed flat against the stone wall.

"Hey," yelled one guard who had seen Arthur, but obviously didn't recognize who he was.

The prince flashed out of the line of sight of the men, chuckling happily. He waved his arms, gesturing down the hall. "Run!" he laughed loudly.

Merlin and I did not hesitate and zoomed our way through the castle. The guards were still behind us, losing this little race of ours. "They just don't give up!" Merlin cried out, laughing along with us. All of us could hear the men gaining, getting closer and closer. Our laughing was slowing us down drastically, and when we would have been caught, "Over there," Merlin pointed.

I zipped behind a stone pillar; Merlin behind a suit of armor; Arthur standing, back against the wall, hidden by the shadows.

Seconds later, the sound of clanking metal ran right past us, and onto the next wing. Once we were sure they wouldn't be coming back, all three of us crept out of our hiding spots and into the open. We glanced at each other, biting our bottom lips before quietly bursting out into fits of laughter. Merlin was first to catch his breath.

"Why didn't you just tell those guys who you were?" he asked Arthur.

"What would've been the fun in that?" he spat. "We weren't caught."

"Dollop head," muttered Merlin.

I giggled. "Okay, that can't be an actual word!"

"With Merlin," Arthur sighed, "anything can be made into an insult… that doesn't make any sense, nor is very insulting. It only makes him sound more like the idiot he is." The warlock shrugged, eyes narrowed at the prat of a prince.

I stood up on my tip toes to whisper in Merlin's ear. "You know, to stay close to one version of the legend, when Arthur's king you can turn him into a fish for a while," I smiled slyly. The warlock looked at me incredulously. I nodded, answering his silent question. He smiled brightly.

"Who am I to argue with that?" Merlin teased.

Arthur got skeptical. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," we answer at the same time.

"There's something fishy going on, I know it," he replied.

I laughed once. "You have _no_ idea!" I muttered only loud enough for Merlin, who was standing right next to me, to hear. We both smiled at our inside joke, annoying Arthur even more. Aw, it's so fun to be friends with legends!

He shook his head. "I don't want to know." I went the two steps between the prince and me to hug him tightly, patting him childishly on the back. He kissed the top of my head gently before redeeming his princely role. "Merlin, go to your chambers and _don't_ get caught. It's embarrassing to have to arrest your own servant for breaking curfew. Get some sleep and be _on time_ tomorrow. We don't have time to wait on your lazy backside."

I snorted a laugh as Merlin glared, but he turned on his heal, quietly calling back to us, "Be good, you two." For some reason I knew if Arthur would have had anything heavy in his hands, that object would have been chucked right at Merlin's head. But before my prince could consider arming himself, I pushed him onwards.

"What time?" he asked, breaking our silence.

I remained quiet until we reached his chamber door. We turned to face each other straight on, his face emotionless while I forced a confused grin. "Whatever do you mean, My Lord?" I asked in my Lady-of-Camelot, British accent voice. He half smiled at my foolish attempt to be noble, and then regained his composure.

Arthur sighed. "Jenn_ifer_," he emphasized. "I'm not as blind to what's going on as you may think or hope. There's something you're not telling me… and I'm not just talking about the druid boy. There's more," he concluded, reading me like a book left wide open.

Quietly, I sighed, knowing I had been defeated. I could feel his eyes on me while I lowered my gaze to the floor. Arthur was expecting an answer, and I wanted to tell him-just about-everything. There was only one problem: How do I explain this Hermione-type situation?

At last, I looked up at him. "Um, would you believe that I used a time-turner?" I mumbled. He was about to ask a thousand questions, but I held up my hand, silencing him. "Right, you don't even know what that is. Look, I," but I was interrupted by a comment from that annoying voice.

"Jenny, don't tell him! What will you say? 'There are two Me's here?'" my conscience snapped. It did have a point. Arthur would think I had gone perfectly mad. No doubt about that.

I hadn't finished my sentence, letting my prince speak. "If it's that difficult to tell me then we'll discuss this later. But I won't forget, keep that in mind." Looking gratefully up at him, I fell into his arms, feeling nothing but love and the steady beat of his heart. It was soothing to my anxious nerves. In those few moments, the world was perfect, at harmony with itself.

He looked down at me. "Come on, I need to get you to bed." Arthur began leading me towards the room that Past-Jen was staying in. Panic settled in. It was in that moment I knew my secret would be let loose. I was doomed, yes. To my sheer amazement and utter relief, there were two guards patrolling right by the chamber door. Arthur whispered a "go" in my ear and we turned around swiftly before we could be spotted.

A minute later, we were inside Arthur's chambers. I walked over to his lit fireplace, warming my hands and thinking about noon tomorrow. Even though it was still night, and hours away till our meeting, it felt only minutes away. Arthur came up behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders.

"I know you're nervous, even if I don't know what about, but I want to help," he muttered in a husky voice. I smiled at his kindness, but shook my head.

"It's… nothing to concern yourself with, Arthur. This is my problem and I _will_ fix it." '_For our sake,'_ I added quietly to myself, for I had made up my mind about Arthur and me…

I was going to stick to the promise I silently made to myself.

He sighed. "Jennifer, you don't have to be in this alo-"

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

"My Lord," a man called, rapping on the door.

Immediately, I started ruffling his blond hair. "What_ are_ you doing?" Arthur asked, slightly amused.

I scowled. "You're supposed to look like you're just getting out of bed! Now take your shirt off."

"Why?"

"Your shirt was off when you went to bed," I explained. He raised an eyebrow.

"The guards don't know that, though."

I smiled. "I know!"

Arthur smiled, rolling his eyes, and slipped off the thin fabric before heading over to the door. I snuck over to the other side of the bed, hiding. Hey! I couldn't be caught in the prince's chambers with no good reason for being there. Okay, yes, there was a reason, but the guards can't know that… yet.

The door squeaked open. "What do you want?" I heard Arthur ask groggily.

"Sorry to disturb you, sire, but have you seen-?"

"How could I have seen anything but the back of my eyelids?" the knight snapped in the same tired tone.

The guard stuttered and fumbled on his words until finally finding his voice. "Y-yes, My Lord, sorry to awaken you," The door shut loudly and all was quiet.

I stood up, looking dreamily at Arthur who was leaning against the door, arms crossed. Involuntarily my eyelids dropped. He gestured for me to sit down on the bed and I obeyed without protest. Actually, after this long, long and confusing day I embraced the warm sheets. He strolled over to my side and kissed the top of my head. He opened a cupboard door and brought out a couple of blankets, laying them on the floor next to me.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

He put his hands on his hips, happy with himself. "Making a bed,"

Giving him a tired smile, I shook my head. "You know, you don't have to sleep on the floor."

He looked around, amused and confused. "Then where would I sleep?"

Biting my lower lip, I said, "I'm, a… I'm kind of chilly being here all alone." I hoped he was catching my drift.

Arthur smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow. "That's odd, seeing as there's a fire lit."

"Just get in here!" I giggled, lifting up the sheets and making room. He chuckled and slid in beside me and laid his head down on one of the two pillows. His blue eyes were staring deep into mine causing blush to flood into my white cheeks. Trying desperately to not get very nervous and keep my pounding heart from pounding right out of my chest, I took in a deep breath and cuddled deeper into the warm sheets.

I was ready for what this knight was to bring.

"How long until you're going home this time?" he yawned. "I'd like an advanced warning, if that's alright."

Smiling tiredly, I closed my eyes. "Get some sleep, Arthur, we've got a long day tomorrow." This was all I said before he pulled me closer, accepting that tonight I was going to be stubborn. "Thank you," I muttered softly.

"For what?" he whispered, on the brink of sleep.

I smiled one more time, slipping into unconsciousness. "For being perfect,"

**A/N: Sorry for the long chapter, but I thought I owed it to all my wonderful readers! Please review and I'll do my very, very best to update ASAP!**


	21. Making Plans

**A/N: YAY! I updated! Please forgive me for the extremely long period between updates, but I've been very busy. Excuses don't change anything, so I'll let you get to the reading!**

**Disclaimer: Once again, Merlin is not mine. It belongs to the BBC… sadly.**

As the sun came up, there was a faint knock on the door. To my surprise it didn't wake Arthur up. I got up from the bed quickly and tiptoed towards the door, opening it up, cringing at the squeak it made. Merlin was standing in front of me with a silver breakfast plate in hand. When he saw me, a sly grin spread across his face.

"Sort of figured you'd be here," he commented, handing over the tray that had enough food on it for two. I grin gratefully at him. Merlin peeped inside the room. "Arthur's not up yet, I see. When are you seeing Mordred?" His sudden-and slightly random-question caught me off guard.

"What are you…?" I started.

"Jen," he raised one eyebrow. "I ran into you an hour ago in the market and you had no memory of last night whatsoever."

"Oh," I choked out softly. He put his hand on my shoulder.

"So either you're really not Jen, or you time traveled again," Merlin concluded. I remained silent, head down. My loss for words was my weakness and seemed to give me away quite easily. It's impossible to hide anything from Merlin, if you're me, that is. "Jen, you know I'm there by your side, right?"

I nod once, eyes lowering, too nervous to look him in the eyes, but I could feel them on me, piercing into me to attempt to yank the truth out. But I was stubborn. Sighing, I finally said, "You know I can't tell you, so don't badger me," I laughed shakily.

The young warlock shook his head and gestured towards the food on the table. "Eat; you can't go and meet Mordred on an empty stomach. Who knows what he may _really_ have planned."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, how'd you know I'm meeting him? I didn't tell anyone, Merlin," I shot at him quickly as Arthur began to stir in his bed. So desperately I wanted to get back to my charming prat of a prince, but I knew that this must be dealt with first.

"Unless you know someone else with magic, and I'm pretty sure I didn't send you back, you're planning on returning," Merlin stated with a cheeky grin, "and for some reason you don't want Arthur and I to know about it." Maybe I shouldn't have told him about what he's going to be like; the wise-ness of his is showing, and it's annoying me. "What time do you meet him?" he asked when I failed to respond.

"Noon," I said, my voice cracking. Looking up into his eyes, I say, "Merlin, I know you want to help and all, but this is one of those… journeys, I guess the dragon would call it, that I have to do on my own." I was twiddling my thumbs vigorously. He eyed me curiously, but didn't say another word on the subject. For this, I was grateful.

Behind us, Arthur was beginning to wake up, muttering something incoherently. Merlin's gaze shot back and forth between the prince and me. "Just," he doddled his head, "be safe," I smiled warmly back at the young warlock.

"Don't worry, I will be," I assured him. Then, Arthur stirs even more, waking up. "There's one more thing I have to do first," I said slyly, realizing that I needed to cover my tracks before I left. Taking this trip was proving to be risky enough: I didn't need to alter too much more. I started to wonder if all this time travel could affect my health, or at least give me some serious jetlag.

On my way down the halls, people were bustling back and forth in a hurry to get chores done. I came up to the familiar door, grinning mischievously. After slipping into the room, I fumbled through a drawer until I came across what I was searching for: a quill, ink, and paper. Sitting down at a table with materials set out in front of me, I began to write;

_Jen, you need to forget about the complications you face wanting to be with Arthur. Let things happen the way they do and don't try to control or alter anything! Please, if Arthur comes asking, Mordred just wanted to talk to you more about the legend at noon. You told him nothing. Merlin will understand._

_Yours __truly__,_

_-A Helping Hand_

I sat back to admire my letter, smiling triumphantly. Quickly, I put the quill and ink away, and rolled up the parchment, leaving it on my bed. At least I was hoping that would solve a couple problems; give me less to worry about.

The next few hours I spent in Gaius' chambers on Merlin's recommendation. He figured that would be the best place for me to stay out of sight. During this long period, I spent my time talking to the old physician about some advances in science and technology. He was very bummed that he would not live long enough-a few hundred years-to see the Enlightenment. Of course I didn't tell him too much. I didn't want him to discover gravity instead of Newton. He did ask what magic existed in my time, and I felt awful to answer him, so I told him about Harry Potter, and how I was missing the first part of the Deathly Hallows. This confused the old man immensely.

"I should go," I finally said, looking up at the great clock. I had ten minutes.

"Very well, it was nice to see you again, Jen," Gaius said, standing up from his place at the table.

As fast as I could, I raced out of the castle receiving many odd glances from knights and guards alike. My dress danced along the ground as my feet propelled me to keep going, to keep walking towards my destination. Mordred should be waiting. Please, be waiting.

My prayers were answered when a small boy came into view. The gypsy woman was standing directly next to him, with Cameron in back. I crossed the last few steps between us to face the druid. "You kept your word," I stated. This place must have been getting to me. I normally don't go only by someone's word, and thought that those who did-here anyway-were a tad foolish. But I had trusted Mordred's for some reason.

The little druid smiled halfheartedly. "You want us to return Sybil to your time." It wasn't a question.

"That's right."

"Why?" he asked, his eyebrows coming together.

Taking in a deep and heavy breath, I countered, "You know as well as I that I cannot and must not tell you my reasoning. It's too dangerous for you to know exactly why, but if you don't send her back then something terrible is going to happen, just like I told you before." He looked down at his worn shoes. "Please, Mordred, do this for me."

The boy looked back at Cameron as the gypsy stared curiously at me. "Sybil," Mordred said, "are you ready to go home?" Letting out my held breath, I watched the gypsy nod, not saying a word. She was probably too confused to know what to say. Mordred took the gypsy's hand and led her a couple yards away. I heard a faint, "Stay here" before he turned his back on her and walked back to Cameron and me. _"Cierran hiere tō __se__stede__fram__hwelc__hēo__hās__becuman__fram__"_

A light wind rustled through the trees, causing the fallen leaves to form a circle around Sybil. The wind picked up, and up, and up until it was a tornado of dirt all around her. Then, as quickly as it came, it was gone, allowing all the twigs and dust to settle back to the ground. The gypsy was nowhere in sight.

"And you _did_ send her back to my time?" I asked to be sure.

Mordred raised his eyebrows. "Yes, Jen," Cameron spoke up. "He did. I recognized the spell." If Mordred was to tell me this, doubt would fill my mind, but coming from Cameron, I believed him. Cameron looked down at the boy. "Now, you know what else to do." I looked at the two boys with confusion. What was this? Were they planning something? I was worried that my worst fears would come true, but instead Cameron said, "It's time to send her home."

The word echoed through my head; home. It seemed so foreign to me now. I didn't even know if we were still in 2010! Was it 2011 yet? I knew not. I only knew what was going on here in Camelot, two millennia in the past.

Before I could protest or ask where he _was_ sending me, he had already let his tongue slide over the Latin verse which possessed the capability to transport me back… or forward. The wind picked up again, now forming the tornado around me. I could hardly breathe through the dust. I looked up at the sky, seeing nothing but a white light ahead. Knocked down onto my knees by an unseen force, I covered my face, putting my head between my legs. My stomach was doing back flips.

The gusts had begun to slow down and it was safe to lift my head again. Half expecting to either see my dorm room or the bustling streets of the city, I was surprised to see Mordred and Cameron still standing in the exact place they were before. I hadn't moved.

Mordred then said what all of us were thinking. "The spell didn't work."

"It seems that way," Cameron stated.

My eyes shut as I realized something; had I not totally fulfilled what I had come here to do? I saved Merlin, got the gypsy to go back, and accepted that I was supposed to be with Arthur. Surely, there is not more to be done!

"What is it, Jen?" Mordred asked. I opened my eyes to stare into his big, green eyes. They were kind and filled with concern, something I would never have expected from the Mordred I had read about all those years. Maybe, he really wasn't all bad, just raised wrong.

There was a chime from above our heads, making us look up. In the sky, a bright, yellow light was floating down towards the earth. We watched as it zoomed in front of me. I looked at the two boys, wondering what I was supposed to do. Without thinking, I put my hand out to touch it, wishing to go back home. With my fingers an inch from the ball of light, I looked up at them. "Thanks, guys, I'm really glad I've met you instead of just reading about you," I added, nodding at Mordred and he grinned. "I think it's time I go home."

I reached forward, touching the light, and waved a goodbye to Cameron and Mordred. A white light blinded me. No longer did I feel gravity weighing me down; it was like I was weightless. Looking upwards, I saw the tips of trees, and then there I was. I was standing in the forest, and I smiled because I now knew for sure that Camelot had to be my home. I wished to go home and it sent me here. Then I saw a sight that made me catch my breath.

I saw myself lying on the ground. I wasn't in my body, I was watching from afar. Panic taking over, I raced over to my lifeless body and laid down on top of myself.

I burst to life with a violent gasp of air. Now looking around, I saw that I was alone in the forest. No one was around. The only evidence that any person had ever been present was the footprints leading away from my body, and the pentagram that I had been in the middle of.

"Back," I said to myself, touching a tree to make sure it wasn't a hallucination. Quickly, I followed the path of footsteps hoping that they led out of the forest.

At last, I saw the castle through a clearing. I began to run towards the edge of the trees only to see Arthur and Merlin coming down the field towards the forest. Merlin glanced in my direction, not seeing me at first, and then did a double-take. He tapped Arthur on the chest, who looked annoyed at the warlock. Merlin gestured towards me, and the boys broke into a run.

"Jen," Arthur laughed, breathless once we had reached each other. "What happened? The last thing I remember is the fight in Morgana's chambers and then…" he cocked his head.

"Well, that's it," Merlin stated, embracing me into a hug. "I remember…" but he did not finish, only shuttered slightly. "And then suddenly we have all these memories that I really don't remember doing," Merlin laughed.

"Merlin, you don't make any sense," Arthur shot.

"You're the one who first talked about those memories!"

"Oh, shut up."

Shaking my head, I laughed and pulled the two of them together into a group hug. "I missed you guys so much!" Ever so weirded out that they were _that_ close to each other, the boys mostly hugged me, which was a bit suffocating, but I didn't care. I was just ecstatic to see them.

"Let me get this straight," Arthur stated as he paced his chambers. "You went back in time_ again_ and saved Merlin by getting Mordred to send the gypsy back, er, forward?" I nodded once. "You know, in a kingdom where magic is banned-"

"There sure is a lot of magic," Merlin finished for the prince, arms folded and leaning against the door. Arthur and I laughed, catching each other's eye in the process. Staring at one another for a couple awkward moments, Merlin said flatly, "I'll be… doing something in the halls."

Left alone, Arthur walked over to me who was standing by the unlit fireplace. "Jen," he started. "I do think it's only fair to know when you're leaving again. I don't want things to go down like they did last time." His breath was hot against my face as my cheeks were turning scarlet.

Taking in a deep breath, I boldly responded, "Who says I'm leaving?" A wave of delight crossed Arthur's handsome features, his blue eyes sparkling brightly. Regaining his normal, prince-like mask, he gazed deep in my eyes.

"Well, if that's the case and you're really not leaving," Arthur said flatly. Slowly, he started to bend down. "Then, I would be honored to have your hand. Jennifer, will you marry me?" My breath caught, my eyes watering up. Arthur's face was blank, but I could feel his heart beating along with mine. He had my hand in his, palms sweaty.

With tears fogging my vision, I nodded vigorously. "Yes," I choked out. "Yes,"

An excited smile crossed the prince's lips as he picked me up (just like in the movies!) and twirled me around, kissing me every second. Everything was perfect, except… "Oh, no," I said against his lips. Arthur pulled back.

"What's the matter?"

"My parents," I stated flatly. Arthur breathed in an 'oh' before looking at the floor.

Suddenly, his chamber door squeaked open. "_That_ won't be a problem!" Sarah exclaimed with Mason at her side. I giggled and ran towards her, embracing my best friend. It seemed like forever since I had last seen her. "Congrats, girl," she laughed, winking at Arthur. I could have sworn I saw her mouth to him a 'good job.'

Mason strolled over to the prince. "You do realize you're going to have to meet her father. Girls love that kind of romantic junk."

"_What?"_ Sarah and I asked at the same time, annoyance in our voices.

"Uh, I mean… This is like one of those Taylor Swift songs, right?" he attempted to save his '_pied dans la bouche'_.

Sarah laughed and nudged me. "It's a love stor-ry, baby, just sa-ay yes…" she attempted to sing with a smile. My friend tugged me over to Arthur and Mason, squishing us together. "Well, Romeo, when's the wedding? And we totally are not listening outside the door just now!"

A little confused, Arthur asked, "Romeo, huh? How does that story end, anyway, Sarah?"

Sarah and I exchanged worried looks. "Oh, fantastic," we lied.

Mason grunted. "Yeah, if you like dea- OUCH!" he yelped as Sarah kicked him in the shins. "Geez, but I doubt that will happen to Arthur and Jen. So, what's it to be, Juliet?" he turned to me.

Everyone was staring at me making my nerves run wild. "I-I don't know. I mean, I have to tell my parents, and you know how my dad is," I explained, gesturing towards Sarah. She nodded apologetically. "I highly doubt they'll believe that I'm marrying King Arthur. I'd be off to St. Mungo's Hospital before you could say Quidditch."

Sarah smiled. "Having a little Harry Potter denial there, Jenny?"

Shrugging, I said, "Maybe just a little," Returning to the problem at hand, I asked, "So how will my parents not be a problem?"

At that moment, Merlin walked back in the room. "We had been talking, and Sarah had the idea of enchanting your mother and father, making them believe that they're seeing a chapel in this place called New York, instead of seeing Camelot castle." To be perfectly honest, it was a great idea… in theory. The only flaw was keeping up the lie, which is not my strong point. "What do you think?"

Smiling, I folded my arms. "I do like it, but what do I tell them that Arthur does for a living? He's a cobbler?" I asked, slightly worried about what my father would say in the near (or far away) future.

"What's a cobbler?" Mason asked. "Like the dessert?"

Ignoring him, Arthur took my hands in both of his. "Don't be concerned, Jennifer. I understand if you do not want to lie to your mother and father, and I want you to know I'll do everything in my power to make things easier on you. I'll even," he looked over at Merlin, "go to the future and meet them, and ask your father's permission to marry you. Whatever it takes to be with you, I'll do."

With my eyes tearing up yet again, Merlin spoke up, "And I'll show them my magic to prove to them you're actually with _the_ Arthur and Merlin," he chuckled. "We don't need them calling Uther a wonky old bat, though it could be true. OW!" he cried as Arthur banged the warlock in the back of the head. "What?"

"No," I said at last, making up my stubborn mind. "I'm going to tell them the truth."

Sarah grabbed my hand and put it up in the oath-taking position and asked, "The whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"The whole truth," I repeated, my heart skipping a beat.

**A/N: So! Please tell me what you think! It would be much appreciated. I really, really will try to update sooner than I have been. I'm hoping that my homework load this semester is extremely lighter, so that I can write quicker. Hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and New Year! (I can't believe we're already in 2011, can you?) Anywho, please review!**


	22. The Reveal

**A/N: I promised a fast update, right? Here's the result. It was really fun to write this chapter, imagining what the parents would say to Jen's wedding announcement. Thanks to all who reviewed; this chapter is for you! :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Merlin or any of its characters, only Jen.**

Forty-five minutes and two thousand years later, Arthur and I were standing in the middle of my parents' living room. Mom and dad were talking in the kitchen as the two of us waited anxiously for them to come out to us- anxiously as in 'nervous as hell.'

Arthur was eyeballing the counter that was just barely visible from the couch. There, in my dad's hand, was a knife- he was chopping onions. Still, Arthur looked a wee bit unnerved about that scene, and I could understand why. He leaned in to whisper in my ear. "Please tell me your father isn't very skilled at fighting because I didn't bring my sword."

Giggling silently, I patted him on the back. "No, it's worse; he has _guns_ in the back room." Apparently I had emphasized 'guns' so much that even though he had no idea what a gun was, the prince automatically knew it was… well, bad, for lack of a better word.

"Merlin better hurry and get here. That idiot is always late!" he exclaimed. Merlin had sent us forward to my time, but stayed back himself. He said he had to do something first and it wouldn't take long. He'll catch up with us. Really, just go on without him.

Well, we did.

Now, where is he?

While Arthur was just plain annoyed, I was getting worried. What could be taking him so long; Uther, possibly? No, Merlin's too clever. He always sweet-talks himself out of those situations. That, or covers it up. My mind snapped back; if I worried then I wouldn't be able to concentrate on this very moment.

Finally, my parents rejoined us in the living room, my mom giving dad a hard glare. "Sorry to keep you kids waiting. Your father and I had to have a discussion first," mom explained as dad rolled his brown eyes. "Now, what is it you'd like to tell us?"

Gulping, I took a step forward. "First off, I would like to introduce you to the love of my life," I just had to say that! "Arthur," I said simply, too worried to say _Pendragon_.

"What?" barked my father, making all three of us jump. "Jennifer, you can't have known him for more than a couple _days_! How can you describe this man as the 'love of your life'? My goodness, you only like him because his name is Arthur, don't you! You and your mother's stupid King Arthur fairytale nonsense," he exclaimed. Arthur looked down at me, mouthing, 'Fairytale?'

"Aw, I'm finally here!" Merlin chimed, walking into the living room through the unlocked front door, a wide smile on his face. After observing my frightened expression, my mother's disappointed face, Arthur stiff mask, and dad's pure anger, he took a defensive step backward. "This is a bad time, isn't it?"

Gesturing towards the newcomer, dad boomed, "And who could this be; that Marvin joke?"

"Uh, no, I'm Merlin," he tried to smile, but could tell that that was probably a bad idea. Now, it was mom's turn to have center stage.

Dad flung his hands up in the air. "This is getting way out of hand."

"So," she started, "You're Arthur and you're supposedly _Merlin_?" They both nodded in unison. Mom shook her head, turning towards me. "I'm sorry, Jenny, but this is a little farfetched. I know I told you about the Legend of King Arthur a lot, but this is a bit extreme, I must agree with your father."

My head fell, and I was about to keep explaining when my father stepped suddenly in. "You're pregnant! You are pregnant and this is just supposed to be a stupid attempt to break it to us easily," he yelled angrily. Arthur and I exchanged shocked looks. Wow, the subject changed fast in my family.

"Sir, with all due respect, Jennifer isn't even married yet. She can't be pregnant," Arthur countered.

Dad snorted in annoyance. "Like that makes any difference."

The boys looked more than confused which was a cue to me that things needed to start going uphill, fast. "Merlin," I exclaimed randomly. The young warlock looked up intently at me. "I think it's time!"

"Time to leave?" he asked eagerly and started toward the door.

Arthur grabbed him by the collar. "If you leave, I will have you in the stocks for a month."

Merlin grew still.

"Why don't you do that thing you can do?" I asked. See, even though the first time Merlin came to my time he couldn't use his magic, this time was different. Mason was still back in Camelot, so, for some reason, that made a difference. We weren't exactly sure why, but we definitely weren't going to question it!

"You really think now's a good time, Jen?" he asked, eying my glaring father. Arthur Gibbs-slapped the poor boy and Merlin jumped into action. "Okay, I guess now is a brilliant time!" He turned to my parents. "I know that you both doubt Jen, but I really hope you don't mind being proven wrong." Merlin muttered the words of the old religion under his breath and his eyes flashed a bright shade of gold. The second the words came out, I recognized them; they were the same ones that Mason used to bring us back to Camelot.

"Where in the hell are we? And how on earth did we get here?" my dad barked. All five of us were standing just outside the castle walls back in Camelot. Mom was staring wide eyed at Merlin, her mouth opening and closing without any sound escaping her lips.

Merlin looked at Arthur and me triumphantly. "We. Are. In. Camelot," he said, making every word a separate sentence.

"Told you," I smirked at my parents. "And how you got here was by magic. He _is_ Merlin and he _is_ King… er, Prince Arthur." I took Arthur by the hand and we began walking up towards the castle. Gesturing for my flustered mother and father to follow us, Merlin quietly did some more explaining… mostly to my mom. It appeared that dad scared him, just slightly.

Upon entering the castle gates, Arthur turned me around and kissed me. "See, everything worked out fine," he offered reassuringly. I nodded, knowing he was right. Arthur looked back at my parents to see mom staring off. "That is where the knights train. Father is going to kill me for missing again," he shrugged off.

"Father?" mom asked, not used to the concept of Arthur being a prince.

He nodded slowly. "King Uther, he is my father. I'm sorry, I was not abandoned at birth and apparently do not have some sort of sword, even though I do have a sword," Arthur teased. Merlin and I laughed along with him while mom just looked at us strangely. "My apologies; that made no sense,"

Merlin gave him a brotherly slap on the back. "It's alright, Arthur. We're used to you not making sense."

However, Arthur did not have time to react to Merlin's insult, for Morgana and Gwen came out at that particular moment. We had to explain to Gwen who I really was, and, surprisingly, she didn't seem that shocked. She always thought I did things that weren't exactly normal for this time period, which she was right about, obviously. The only thing she was shocked about was Merlin's magic. That one took her by complete surprise.

"Guinevere, Morgana," Arthur greeted the two girls, "may I introduce you to Jennifer's mother and father."

Mom looked at me, head cocked. When Arthur wasn't looking she mouthed, "Guinevere?" I bit my lip and gave her a quick nod and put a single finger to my lips.

"Hello, I am the Lady Morgana," she smiled kindly. "I do hope Arthur hasn't been too much of a burden. He tends to be full of himself."

"_Thank you_, Morgana," he scolded.

"What? It is only the truth, and don't you think your future family should know all about you?" Morgana teased.

"Whoa," dad interjected. "'Future family'?" he repeated.

Morgana gasped. "Oh, you didn't know?"

Sighing, Arthur rolled his eyes. "No, Morgana, would you like to tell them everything else that we had planned to reveal?"

"Oh, stop being so dramatic," she countered.

Dad glowered at Morgana for a moment, as if trying to recall something. "Aren't you supposed to be evi…"

"Okay!" I remarked loudly with an over exaggerated grin, receiving many odd looks from my friends, especially Morgana, which worried me ever so. Yes, my father did know some things about the legend of King Arthur from over hearing my mom telling me the stories. Any other time, I would be happy that he at least knew some of it, but at the moment I was cringing at what he might let slip.

Gwen stepped forward. "Well, seeing as the news is already out why don't we get you a gown for the wedding?"

"Yes, Guinevere is the finest seamstress in Camelot," Arthur complimented. "She will get you both fixed up properly," he said as people in the square began to stare at mom, dad, and my odd, futuristic clothing. "The wedding is in two days, and father has yet to find out."

Merlin chuckled at Arthur's words, for it is true! We haven't told Uther about the wedding, though we set a day for it. Telling Uther was supposed to be Arthur's job while I told Gwen, but he chickened out at the last minute, saying that my parents should find out first.

So, Arthur and I went into the throne room hand-in-hand to break the news to Uther. It didn't go too well…

"You are _what?"_ he spat at us. "Arthur, don't you realize that the key to keep Camelot thriving is through your marriage of another kingdom? You aren't being reasonable." I rolled my eyes, exasperated and tired of people yelling at us for being together.

Sighing, I stepped forward. "I beg your pardon, My Lord, but I love your son and he loves me. Please, believe me when I say that Arthur is going to be a very brilliant king, the best Camelot could have, and that is not due to a marriage of another princess." Yes, I was pushing it by informing the king of this, but you need to work what you got in dire and desperate situations. "I have faith in Arthur, and I know that he will make you proud, Your Majesty."

Uther came down off of his throne and onto the floor to join us. "Look, I can see that both clearly have certain… _feelings_… for each other, but she is a commoner, Arthur. I do not approve of this." He shook his head, covering his eyes in frustration. "What would the people think? Arthur, you must think of these factors!"

Arthur countered his father quickly. "The people all seem to love Jen, and they aren't the only ones," he said, smiling slyly at me. "She has a bright head on her shoulders and I for one know that she will not take no for an answer. She has determination…" he glanced at me before saying, "and stubbornness."

A small murmur of laughter echoed through the court. I looked around at Merlin who was standing next to my parents; mother looking very excited and father looking extremely out of place. I hoped, begged, and prayed that Uther didn't notice his uncomfortable look. We all know that if he suspects anything out of the ordinary, it means death. Then again, he would accuse a rock of sorcery if he tripped over it.

The young warlock gave me a playful wink and began whispering to my mom, who, like my father and I, was now dressed in proper clothes for this era. Whatever he said made her gasp and then smile warmly. Gaius made his way over to dad and muttered something in his ear. And, for the first time in a long time, I saw him chuckle silently at the old physician's words. Some of the nerves in my stomach loosened and I let out a tiny sigh.

The king just stood there with his mouth opening and closing. For once, he was at a loss for words in a situation. Arthur took full advantage of that rare moment, stating quickly, "We want to get married in the morning, tomorrow, outside." He smiled down at me. "See you there, father."

With that, we both strode out of the court, a smile playing at my lips. From the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw Gaius gaping and Merlin almost wanting to applaud our little performance. I didn't dare look back over my shoulder in fear of what I may see on Uther's stunned face. Nope, I wasn't going to worry about the king. I had a wedding to attend to where I was the guest of honor.

**A/N: I hope you liked it! There are about two chapters left- maybe three- until this story is finally complete. Sorry, I don't plan on making it a trilogy, but I might change my mind later on. Please tell me what you think! Reviews are more than welcome! :)**


	23. The Gift

**A/N: Thank you guys for the response! Okay, I lied. There will be a couple chapters after this and then the epilogue. BUT! We're almost finished in this story *small squeal, sad tear* so I will let you stop reading my babble and get to the story. That is the reason you clicked this link, am I right?**

**Disclaimer: Here's the sad news. The dragon just told me that Merlin isn't mine. He belongs to the magical world. Here's the thing, I told him that the BBC owns all of 'em! HA, showed him!**

There, by my window, I was standing. The clock read 2:09 a.m. I still had many, many hours before my wedding ceremony was to start. It was pitch black out and the stars were barely visible behind the heavy clouds. The night breeze felt cool against my hot face. This had been a long night so far, and I was grateful to be alone at last. I smiled as I recalled all of the events that had left me slightly winded.

"_Aw, I can't believe you're getting _married,_ Jenny!" Sarah had exclaimed when all of us were together in Gaius' chambers. "And… I know that you're going to absolutely love my gift I got you! That's all you'll be doing tomorrow, thanking your best friend for her awesomeness!"_

_I laughed and took a glance in Merlin's direction. He and Arthur were busy at work studying his magic book, flipping vigorously through the old, worn pages. They were whispering quietly to themselves. I so badly wanted to intrude and find out what was so secretive, but I declined the tempting offer. My mom was silently staring at Morgana as she attempted to do what I desperately wanted to do; go tease Arthur and Merlin for whatever they were doing._

"_Come now, Arthur, this is the only chance I would get to even think about looking at a book of magic," she said slyly. "You know Uther would have your head if he knew what you were up to in here. For once, let me share some of the blame." Her fingers were inching towards the leather bound book, curiosity in her eyes. Watching mom closely, I saw her gasp when Merlin allowed her to search through it with open arms._

_She gestured for me to come to her. "Jen, honey, why is he… I thought Morgan was…"_

_Whispering as quietly as I could, for I could tell Gaius was wondering what mom was worried about, I answered. "Morgana, not Morgan, actually, and, so far she doesn't seem to be evil. Well, unless you call standing up against Uther on the occasion evil. She does have magic, but it's weak at the moment."_

"_And Mordred?" dad asked. "Doesn't he do some bad thing?"_

_I sighed. "He is not Arthur's kid. He's a druid. I've already met him." But I didn't want to go on from there and got up to go sit next to Gwen who was talking to Mason._

"… _was the best thing ever!" Mason exclaimed._

_Gwen laughed with an, "I'm sure," She turned to me once I took a seat on the top of the table. "How are your parents settling in? Your father looks a bit… uncomfortable."_

_I nodded. "Yeah, they aren't used to this. Father doesn't like legends too much, so to find out that it's all real and that I'm marrying the very man he detested, well, you do the alchemy." Sarah looked up from her Latin book off of Gaius' shelves._

"'_You do the alchemy'?" she snorted. "I thought the saying was 'you do the math'." Then she noticed the strange looks all of our medieval friends gave her. "Okay, alchemy's cool. Who needs math, anyway?" she sighed. "Who would have thought I needed to know Latin. Gaius, I don't understand a word of this! Other than the pictures, but those aren't words… Well, they have captions, so I guess it counts. Oh, screw it! I'm reading a Dr. Seuss book when I get back!" Sarah exclaimed whilst slamming the book's cover shut on her lap._

_The old physician got up from his bench and twiddled his fingers on the spines of his books before removing one from its proper setting. "Here you are, Sarah. It's a book of creatures. Jen found this most interesting. Not much reading to it, too," he winked and handed her the volume._

_Suddenly, the door swung open and Uther stepped right inside. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look pleased, either. "Arthur, there is a matter we must discuss if you are getting _married_ tomorrow," he informed his son. I could tell by the look on the king's face that it wasn't that important. He probably just wanted him to… give him his blessing! Maybe…_

"_That's right!" Mason snapped, standing up and trying to look very important. "There is something important; the bachelor party!" The words came out with so much force that the whole room cracked up, except for Merlin, Gaius, Arthur, and of course Uther who had no idea what that even was. Mason sprinted over to Arthur and Merlin, grabbing them by the arm and pulling them out of their chairs. "Come on," he encouraged as he made his way, backwards, to the door just a few feet from Uther. Reluctantly, and slightly frightened, the two boys followed Mason out the door, not changing to look at Uther, but I couldn't take my eyes off the king; he was more confused than any of us. For once, I felt sympathy. "Oh, dude, we're gonna get so drunk!" I heard him say just outside the door. "Let's go to the tavern and grab some beer!"_

"_Ale," I corrected, shouting back at them with a grin._

"_That's what I said!" Mason shot back, a smile in his voice, and I heard Arthur and Merlin laugh loudly. Oh, where's Gwaine when you need him! If I do recall correctly, he did like his drink, then again, I could be wrong. This place is very different._

_Then, the king looked at me, stepping away from the door. "What just happened?"_

_I shrugged my shoulders with a lazy grin. "That's Mason for you… My Lord."_

_Sarah laughed once and grabbed my hands, setting her book down. "Don't think you're getting out of a bachelorette party!" she chimed as I groaned. Gwen and Morgana were at her side in an instant, smiling happily. "I already told them what that party was and they were more than happy to join in," Sarah explained with a triumphant grin on her red lips. I realized there was no way out of this, so asking my future father in-law to order her to save me the torture of a party was probably out of the question._

"_Bye, mom, bye, dad," I say sadly over my shoulder as Morgana has a hold of one hand and Sarah the other. "Your Majesty," I bow my head as much as possible before I'm dragged away by my three captors._

_Faintly, I could have sworn I heard Gaius say, "I'm not sure, My Lord,"_

_The rest of my evening and on into the night this party lasted. Sarah had brought her camera (she and Mason had gone back to the future a couple times since everything had been set right in Camelot and everyone was no longer… well, dead) and was taking incessant photos of everyone in random and embarrassing shots. We ate chocolate chip cookies and drank root beer floats by the fire-courtesy of Sarah, yet again-and told different stories that made us clutch our sides in laughter._

"_Never," Morgana rejoiced after another bite of a cookie, "would I have thought that something that's brown and looks like something from the stables would taste so delicious! You both always eat this chocolate?"_

_We nod once, and Sarah chimes as she takes a sip from her goblet, "I love this drink! It's so much tastier than a lot of the stuff I always get. Plus, no alcohol age limit here! Down the hatch!" and she chugs the last two gulps. I laugh at her._

"_There is plenty more drink where that came from," Gwen reassured her, "as long as we get more of that chocolate." The maid smiles and I hand her the chunkiest cookie I could find._

The clock now strikes three. I step away from the window, butterflies building up in my stomach. I was getting married to Arthur Pendragon. Tomorrow, at this time, I would be Jennifer Pendragon. Hey! Jen Pendragon sounds pretty good. I let that happy thought linger a while longer in my head before the butterflies decided to grow even bigger in my tummy.

A million questions were swarming in my brain like wasps; what if something goes wrong? What if I'm not Guinevere, like my name's origin? What if I'm changing history and Gwen is supposed to take my place tomorrow. Will Uther hate me as his daughter in-law? Or will he just silently disapprove? What about my parents? I'll need to be able to visit them. And if Merlin sends me back, what if Uther catches him doing magic?

I was definitely not ready.

I was in desperate need of answers. There was only one person I could turn to, even if all I would get would be riddles. At least riddles contain answers inside of them. Quickly and without further ado, I race out of my chambers and down the steps towards the dungeons. Grabbing a lit torch, I make my way down the long, dark tunnel until I see the dragon asleep on his rock.

Even though I felt bad about waking him, I had to. Answers were needed and he had them. Yes, I did hesitate to call out to him. Instead of yelling at me for waking him too early, he could also scorch me alive! That kind of death does not sound too pleasurable to me.

"Um, excuse me," I yell, perhaps not loud enough. "I-it's Jen. I need to talk to you."

Slowly, the sixty foot dragon raised its mighty head, blinking his golden eyes. "If it isn't the young time traveler," he yawns. "What is it that you want now?" The Great Dragon's voice was accusatory, but I chose to ignore this.

Gathering up my courage, I answered, "I'm marrying Arthur tomorrow."

His head nodded once. "So I've heard."

"And…" I pressed, "Is that the right thing to do?"

"I thought you were beyond doubts."

"I was, but-"

"But nothing," he snapped. "You must not give in to worrisome thoughts. Destiny has set you on a course that only you can follow. It has given you clues and hidden answers to help you make this very decision. A decision that will last a lifetime, a decision that you will fulfill tomorrow, a decision-"

"I get it!" I barked curtly.

The dragon chuckled. "I see patience has not improved as time goes on." I continue to glare at him. "Alright, Jennifer, since you _are_ getting married tomorrow, I will let you ask me anything you wish, as my gift to you."

"With a straight answer?" I asked.

He blinked. "Is that your question?"

"No," I exclaimed. Stupid, tricking lizard…

"I want to know…" How could I bring myself to ask this? What if I didn't like the answer? "I need to know, am I the one who is supposed to marry Arthur, the Guinevere that legend talks about?"

Seeming to have expected this question, the dragon bowed his head, and I held my breath for the answer to come, but by the look on his scaly face, I wasn't going to like it.

**A/N: Hmm, now, is she supposed to marry Arthur or not? The answer she's been curious about has finally arrived! Sorry about the cliffhanger, but I love them! Don't you? Okay, as the reader maybe not, but you know what I mean! Please review! It would be most appreciated! Thanks!**


	24. Not a Lady Yet

**A/N: I want to give a big thanks to everyone who has stayed with me, despite my slow updates. I hate that the chapters do come slow, so I'm very grateful to all you reviewers out there! I do believe I'm going to have one or two more chapters after this, you know, as a kind of epilogue. But, overall, this is the end!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Merlin does not belong to me. Rather, it belongs to the BBC.**

Biting my lip, he finally spoke to me. "Are you in love with Arthur Pendragon?" he asked. I thought I was the one who got to ask a question, but I nodded anyway. "Then you make the future the way you wish it to be made."

"You said I would get an answer," I snapped as the dragon began to chuckle again, shaking his mighty head. "Yeah, yeah, I know; no patience."

"Does today's decisions not affect tomorrow's outcome?" I folded my arms. Sighing, the dragon finally answered, "Yes, Jennifer, you are the queen Legend speaks of." He slumped on his rock, his golden eyes staring straight at mine. "But with this knowledge comes responsibility."

Nodding, I began to leave. Over my shoulder I said, "Thank you," and walked into the tunnel.

"Guinevere," the dragon called. Turning back, I saw him flying up. "Not all of your legend is incorrect." Reflecting on his words, I immediately thought of Morgana. No, I don't believe it! She's not even Arthur's half sister. Things would work out, they had to. Maybe warning Merlin…

No! That would be dumb.

I pushed these thoughts from my mind and swiftly made it back to my room. Lying flat on my stomach, I closed my eyes and fell into a sleep, more than certain about tomorrow.

However, my subconscious had a different plan in store for me. I dreamed I was back in my dorm, and Mordred appeared at the foot of my bed. I dreamed that it was Arthur's final battle, but there was nothing I could do to save him from a fully grown Mordred. Mordred, Mordred, and more Mordred! Every dream that my brain switched to had that druid boy in it.

Finally, I woke up. I was in cold sweats, still fully dressed from the previous night. I wondered what had awaken me until I heard a loud knock at my door, followed by a, "Get up, you lazy daisy!" Sarah entered my room, bowing in her dress. "Queen Jennifer," I laughed.

"I'm not queen yet." Oh, goodness! Queen. I was supposed to become queen when Arthur is king. More knots in my stomach formed, and tugged… hard.

"Is she up yet?" Morgana asked, as she and Gwen eased into my room. I sat up and gestured for them to come in. "Jen, your father is with Gaius. Those two seem to be getting along quite well. Will they be staying in Camelot?"

I shook my head. "No, we had talked yesterday and they said that they were not going to relocate so far away," I laughed, though it kind of hurt to say. "Not that I blame them," I muttered. Everyone looked at me, seeming to hear my last statement. "They haven't been here as long and as often as I have."

Gwen came over and hugged me. "You're nervous. Come on, eat some of that chocolate and we'll get you into that beautiful wedding dress!"

"If I eat anymore chocolate, I won't be able to fit into the dress!" I teased, giggling.

For the next two hours, my chamber was transformed into a hair and makeup salon. Sarah had brought her makeup kit and nail polish. We applied two clear coats, agreeing that if I painted my nails any other color my honeymoon would be short lived.

"Ugh, that Uther!"

Morgana was busy at work behind me, curling my stubborn hair into perfect ringlets, and took the hairspray bottle from Sarah, already knowing what it was. I supposed my future friend briefed the girls on hair products. Gwen, after making my bed and insisting that I eat _something_ for breakfast, fetched my dress from her house and told me her epic tale of how she narrowly avoided running into Arthur.

"What?" she had asked after I started laughing along with Gwen. "It's bad luck if the groom sees the dress before the wedding. The last thing we need is bad luck."

"But don't I have to be in the dress for it to be bad luck?" I asked, trying to recall all the superstitions about weddings.

"I don't think it matters either way, Jenny," Sarah interjected. "With Uther around, there are no chances to be taken, so let's say it's all bad luck, that way we get all the good luck!"

All four of us laughed as Gwen led me behind the screen, helping me into the white gown. There was another knock at the door. "Who is it?" I called, looking out.

The door opened and a head peeped in. "Merlin," he smiled. "I brought someone to see you." My eager mother stepped inside. Gwen fastened the last button in the back and gently pushed me out from behind the screen.

"Wow," both my mother and everyone else in the room exclaimed.

"Jen," Merlin breathed, his cheeks going red. "You look beautiful."

Mom came over and hugged me tight, making sure not to mess up my hair. "He's right!" In my ear, she whispered, "Arthur is freaking out," and laughed. I looked over at Merlin, raising an eyebrow. The warlock mouthed, 'Arthur?' and I nodded. He started to crack up, which I took for a yes.

The time seemed to pass by in a daze, and before I knew it, the ceremony was about to begin. I was alone in my chamber, looking down on the field where I was about to marry Prince Arthur. All the questions from before were not fused in my head, because I knew the answers, but then new ones formed.

I looked down at my white, silk dress. It was beautiful; the sleeves were short, but loose. The end of the gown trailed along the floor, covering my white slippers. For some reason, I had wondered if they were going to be glass slippers when Morgana talked about them. I almost brought up Cinderella, but I held my tongue. Of course, I would have sounded foolish. Who wears glass slippers? There was nothing to complain about, though, for the slippers I received were simply perfect! When it came to the dress, it was almost as if the material was sewn directly onto my body, like it was made just for me. Then again, this wasn't a time where a David's Bridal was just around the block. The gown probably was made just for me, which gave me more confidence.

"Hey," a voice said from behind me. Whizzing around, Merlin was standing by my bed. "It's time," he bowed. I walked to him, biting my bottom lip. He took my arm. "My Lady,"

I smiled. "I'm not a Lady yet."

Merlin smiled back. "Yet,"

As we arrived outside, the whispers started. Everyone was smiling, and my eyes found Arthur who was standing the farthest away. His red cape was gently blowing in the wind. The crown on his head gleamed in the mid morning sunlight. My breath steadied the second my eyes landed on him. My mom and dad were standing on one side of the crowd next to Gaius. Mom was smiling at me, and Gaius was whispering something to dad before nodding his head at me. My father looked up, and for the first time in so long, he actually looked proud of me.

And for once, I was proud of me. I was really going to do something with my life that will cause change in the world. I smiled.

Merlin bowed his head one more time and I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. Ears going red, he went to stand next to Gwen and Morgana. The two girls giggled as Arthur did an obvious double-take. Sarah and Mason gave me thumbs up and crossed their fingers.

At last, I made it up there to my love. He gently took hold of my hands, and the elderly man spoke.

"My Lords, Ladies, and gentlemen of Camelot," the old man said with a slight grin through his white beard, "we are gathered here today to celebrate the ancient right of hand-fasting; union of Arthur Pendragon and Jennifer Coldwell." He turned to the prince. "Is it your wish, Arthur, to become one with this woman?"

There was no hesitation. "It is."

"Is it your wish, Jennifer, to become one with this man?" the old man looked at me.

"It is." Arthur tried to keep a straight face.

"Do any say nay?" I held my breath. This line in weddings, no matter if it was real or in a movie or book, it always made me cringe to think of someone standing up and shouting something horrid. But no sound came from the audience, though I could tell Uther wanted to say something. Thankfully, the man continued, bringing out a wreath. "With this garland, I do tie a knot, and in doing so I bind your hands and your hearts for all eternity." The green garland was slowly being tied to both my wrists and to Arthur's, making my heart skip a beat.

Then, Arthur spoke. "I, Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot, shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself."

And it was my turn. "I, Jennifer Coldwell, Lady of America, shall not seek to change thee in any way. I shall respect thee as I respect myself." From the corner of my eye, I saw Mason and Sarah stifle a laugh at my 'Lady of America' comment.

"I now pronounce you to be husband and wife," he exclaimed. I waited a split second for him to say, "You may kiss the bride," but instead, he stood off to the side, and before I knew it, Arthur was kissing me.

Our first kiss as husband and wife.

Me. I was a wife. Me! And my husband was _Arthur Pendragon._ Oh, God, I was Jennifer Pendragon. Jen Pendragon was now my name. I almost fainted, there, while kissing him! We slowly pulled away, and held our hands up, facing the crowd. An uproar of clapping echoed off the castle walls, and smiles brightened the already shining sunny outdoors. A part of me half expected Merlin to magically shoot fireworks, he was clapping the loudest.

The crowd dispersed and Arthur and I chose to mingle a tad bit as things were getting put away. He went over to talk to some of his knights and I found my mom talking to Merlin.

"…knows about your magic?" I caught the end of mom's question.

Merlin shook his head. "No, and as Jen has told me more than once," he flashed a smile at me, noticing my sudden arrival, "they already should know, but only a few know. Actually, Arthur just found out about… what? Two months ago, maybe more."

I nodded. "Sounds about right."

"But," mom started again, "you can actually do magic? It's not just a farce?" Merlin nodded and held up his hand to his mouth, inaudibly muttering some spell. When he pulled his hand away, a tiny flame was in the palm of his hand, just lightly floating above his pale skin. He held the fire away from anyone's gaze, but enough for my mother and me to see.

The fire disappeared as soon as mom was proved speechless. "So, where's Arthur? Already tired of the prat?" he teased and I playfully Gibbs-slapped him upside the head.

Mom laughed in between sips of her wine. "Are you allowed to Gibbs-slap him?"

Merlin grinned. "Yes, you can't do that to the most powerful warlock!"

"Sorry, Merlin, I meant, can you really invent that before Mark Harmon even does it?" Mom clarified. I giggled and Sarah walked right over to me with a package in hand.

"Someone mention Mark Harmon? Oh, and this is for you." She handed me the gift. It was beautifully wrapped in light blue paper and a golden bow. "Go on. Tear that paper up!" And so I did. Inside the paper was a cardboard box, which I lifted the lid to reveal… chocolate! Lots and lots of chocolate! I threw my arms around her. "I didn't know _how_ you were planning on surviving in this medieval place without the sweet deliciousness of the cocoa bean."

Just then, Mason appeared from behind her. He too held out a present, but it was at least six times smaller than Sarah's and not as neatly wrapped. "This is to make sure you come to visit." Merlin came a bit closer to see what I had gotten now. I took the little lid off and saw two tickets. Upon turning them over in my palm, I saw that they were…

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2?" I almost screamed. "Thank you so much, both of you! Oh, my gosh. I need to see the first part!"

"No worries," he waved off. "We will make sure you see that, and then you and Artie can watch this one. You can't go without seeing the final Harry Potter."

Gaius came up to our little group, along with Arthur. "Merlin," the physician said. "Mason and I have been discussing a few things."

"You have very poor reading material here," Mason announced. "Dude, you only really have textbooks."

"So…" Sarah began, and winked at me. "When you get back to your room, please, feel free to look under your bed!" I looked at me friend with some confusion. She saw me and gestured with her eyes towards the blue movie tickets I still held in my hands, and back at Merlin. I gasped, a smile forming on my face.

"Hey, love," I called to Arthur, "looks like we get to go back to the future in mid-July." I waved my tickets in the air and my husband smiled, bowing his head towards my mom. "You and your husband are always welcome here in Camelot, as well, Mrs. Coldwell."

"Thank you, Arthur," she said, smiling and eyeing the castle with much excitement. Then she leaned in towards me. "I can call him Arthur, right? It's not 'King Arthur' or 'Prince Arthur'?"

I laughed lightly. "It's Arthur," I whispered back.

And then, I knew that this was where I belonged. In Camelot, my life was here. Nothing could change that, and no matter how much I loved being in my time, this was my home now. Here, with Arthur by my side, and with Merlin always helping. I thought about the dragon's words. This is where my life would make a difference.

**A/N: A kind of sappy ending to this chapter, but at least it's not a cliffhanger! Please review, it means so much, especially when I'm bringing this story to a close!**


	25. End of A Story Start of A Legend

**A/N: Well, my friends, this is the last chapter of this story! I want to once again give a HUGE thanks to all of you who favored, alerted, and reviewed! You are the best readers a writer could want! No, I'm not sucking up to you to get review… but if it's working, please review! =D**

**Oh, and this chapter starts about eight months after the wedding.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin. I believe the show owns me.**

"The sword," I stated abruptly. "He has to get Excalibur!" Arthur had just been crowned king and I his queen, so I saw it fitting that the Once and Future King was to be united with his legendary sword. After all, how was I supposed to keep my mouth shut when I know he should have it now?

Merlin thought for a moment before smiling. "I think I finally know what you're talking about." We exchanged sly looks, which made Arthur a bit skeptical. I went giddy with pleasure. The legend of King Arthur was coming together quite nicely and I was enjoying every second of it! Who knew I would ever be a part of it? Me, as Guinevere, it's amazing!

"Well, I have no idea what either of you are talking about," Arthur commented. "I have a sword, Jen, yet you're always speaking of me with another."

I squeezed his hand tightly. "Don't worry, you shall soon find out," I said in an evil tone and he chuckled. Turning to Merlin, I asked, "So, where is it at? I'm dying to see it!" Both boys laughed… at me. I shook my head, but grinned softly. "What?" I asked innocently. "Can't a girl want to see a legendary artifact?"

The young warlock chuckled once more before starting to walk out of the castle. "It's this way," he called, arms held out. The people in the courtyard stared at him strangely, though he tried not to notice. Ever since Arthur became king, the no magic law was repealed and Merlin was free to openly show what good magic could accomplish. Unfortunately, it's taking the people longer than expected to adjust.

Arthur and I caught up to Merlin quickly, following him out of the castle walls, past the guards. "Where exactly are you taking us?" Arthur asked when we appeared to be lost in the middle of the forest. The Royal Advisor/Court Sorcerer answered with a simple, "You'll see" and continued walking. Feeling somewhat dorky, I scanned the forest around us for any signs of big stones… with a sword, though I was sure I was being foolish.

At long last, Merlin stopped leading us when we reached the edge of a lake. The Once and Future King and Queen of Camelot, (Yes, I am talking about myself in third person _just_ so I could say 'Queen' and 'Camelot' together), stood back, watching Merlin with great curiosity. He held his hand out, calling magical words into the wind. Suddenly, the water in the middle of the lake boiled, and up came a sword, sparkling in the afternoon light. It rose up above the surface and floated towards Merlin who took it carefully in both hands. He turned back around to face us, as if presenting the sword, and walked right up to Arthur.

"My Lord," he bowed his head, still grinning all-knowingly.

"Wait," I said just as my husband was about to take the weapon. Giggling, I pointed to a big rock ten feet from where we were standing. "Could you possibly…?" I trailed off, feeling a bit childish to actually ask what was on my mind.

Thankfully, Merlin caught onto what I was trying to say. Dramatically, he strolled over to the stone and silently muttered a spell, causing his eyes to flash gold. He plunged the sharp object into the rock, but it did not crack.

And there it was; the sword in the stone.

"Why did you want him to do that?" Arthur asked, bewildered.

Smiling, I said, "Go pull it out, Arthur! I am determined to make Camelot like at least one part of the legend." I gestured for him to go over there, towards the sword. He obeyed, chuckling at my girly-ness. And just as he was about to attempt pulling the weapon out of the rock, he gestured for me to come closer to him. "What is it?" I asked.

"You try it first," he grinned. "You deserve to, Jennifer."

My heart skipped a beat as I touched the handle for the very first time. Gently, I yanked it up, but it did not budge as I knew it wouldn't. For the heck of it, I tried one more time before giving up. "Yep, whatever spell you did, Merlin, you did it right." Looking at the king, I removed my right foot from the rock. "Arthur," I gestured.

After putting one foot on the stone, he grasped the sword's hilt with both hands. He glanced at me, took a deep breath, and mustered up all his strength and tugged. Out came Excalibur, glistening brightly in Arthur's gloved hands. He held it in the sunlight, admiring its beautiful craftsmanship with wonder and amazement.

How we met Gwaine sure was a story to tell! Arthur was dragging poor Merlin on yet another torturous hunting trip. I decided to tag along so that the warlock wouldn't get too lonely and bored. We had been riding for more than half a day and who knows how far we were from Camelot.

"You know what we need after a hard day's hunt?" Arthur announced when we stopped on a hill with a small town below.

"Sleep?" "A shower?" Merlin and I offered at the same time?

Not paying too much attention, he answered, "A nice cold tankard of mead!"

Merlin and I exchanged looks. "Mead," we mumbled together.

All three of us rode down to the village, tying up our horses in front of the tavern. "No better place to measure the mood of your people than the local tavern!" he exclaimed, looking at me and winked. I rolled my eyes, but figured he was right.

"This is one of those moments where I tell you something isn't a good idea and you ignore me, isn't it?" Merlin asked, and I patted him on the back.

"You're learning, Merlin. Slowly, but you're learning," Arthur retorted. "Now, remember, in here you're not our advisor, we're just simple peasants like everyone else."

"He's got the simple part right," Merlin whispered to me.

Arthur looked back at us. "What?"

"He said the sun is very bright," I lied and he silently thanked me.

"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Arthur said, looking up. We entered the structure and sat down. I half expected to pick up a menu, but then shook off the feeling when the boys simply sat there unmoved; I leaned back in my wooden chair. A pudgy waitress came up to the table.

"Afternoon," she sighed. "What'll it be?"

I glanced around the tavern at all the men drinking, noticing I was the only girl, but I didn't mind. It was kind of cool, actually. Arthur, Merlin, and the waitress exchanged some words; however I didn't hear their conversation. My mind was somewhere else. There, on the other side of the room was a man about Arthur's age, holding onto his jug like his life depended on it. He had dark brown hair and scruff on his handsome face. He seemed a bit familiar, though I've never seen him before, and I had an urge to go talk to him.

Suddenly, a brute looking man stormed in through the door. He went right up to the waitress who was now at the bar, and growled something to the poor woman. She tossed some coins on the table, telling him something and looking slightly scared. And before I knew it, Arthur was up there confronting the man, the handsome man I noticed joined the conversation, Merlin laughed, "I'd like to see you try!" and a fight broke out.

Merlin jumped up, joining in on the fight – magically – and jumped behind the counter. I followed him, not able to find Arthur. His eyes went gold, flinging plate after plate at the goons. I laughed and that man came up to us. "Pass the jug, huh?" He takes a mighty swig and punches the man next to him. "So what do they call you two?"

"Merlin."

"Jen."

He nods. "Gwaine. Pleasure to meet you," A man raced up to him, but this Gwaine smashed the jug of ale against the attacker's head. "Such a waste, huh?"

Finally, I spot Arthur. He's fighting the brute looking man who had stormed in here. When the guy drew a knife, I panicked, but Gwaine ran up, saving Arthur but getting stabbed in the thigh himself. "Whoa," I whisper as we run over to Gwaine's side.

Merlin turns to me. "What?"

I nodded towards the fallen man. "Gwaine; he's a Knight of Camelot."

"You're joking?" Arthur asks, hearing my words. I shook my head, eyes wide as I look Gwaine over with my eyes.

A month or two later, to my surprise and dislike, Lancelot returned and Arthur welcomed him back with open arms – literally.

"Lancelot," Arthur had exclaimed, pulling his old friend into a hug. I stayed a few paces behind the reunion, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Gwaine introduced himself and Merlin rejoiced at his return. My eyes rolled, though I knew I had no reason to hate him. It's not like I'm going to fall in love with him or anything. "Who's this?" he asked, noticing a rather large man standing by him. His chainmail was ripped at the shoulders, revealing his muscular arms.

"Oh, this is Percival. He's been traveling with me," Lancelot said, gesturing towards the man. Percival stepped forward and bowed his head at Arthur and me. I went giddy. I knew Percival! Wow, the Round Table was forming fast!

"What brings you here?" Merlin asks Lancelot joyously as Arthur whispers to me, "Why are you laughing?"

"Percival and Lancelot; they're your Knights of the Round Table!" I whisper back, unable to control my excitement. The king looks up, glancing at Percival and nods, impressed. We both then rejoined the conversation taking place.

"…heard that Arthur had become king, and I thought that I would able to come back to Camelot." He looks at my husband, almost asking.

Arthur laughs, playfully slapping him on the back gently. "Of course, in fact, you'll be knighted tomorrow morning! Percival will, as well. Surely he's good with a sword."

"Wow," Merlin chuckles. "What a welcome home present."

Gwaine smiles. "So being Court Sorcerer isn't so great?" he teased. I had to laugh along with that one, for Merlin had been boasting about that for months now!

"Court Sorcerer?" Lancelot asked, and I figured it's my turn to say something.

"Yes, he's very fond of that position, aren't you, Merlin?" I smile.

The ex-knight bows his head. "My Lady," he says uncertainly.

I smile at him. "Hi, Lancelot, and queen or not, please call me Jen!" May as well be nice to him! He was here to stay, this much I knew. I had accidentally – well, almost accidentally – called myself Gwen, but refrained from the urge to show off. After all, this bunch wouldn't get my inside joke. When I told Sarah on her last visit, she about jumped out of her skin.

The next morning, just as Arthur had promised, Lancelot and Percival were knighted. Gwaine showed Percival around Camelot, mostly around the tavern. Lancelot went to go see Gwen and she was overjoyed to see him, having met before. That gave me an idea…

I was walking in the castle hallways one fine morning before Arthur had gotten up. (In case you were wondering, Merlin was no longer a servant to Arthur, yet he still comes into our chambers out of force of habit.) When I was about to turn the corner, Lancelot bumped into me.

"Jen, I'm sorry," he said quickly, but I brushed it off with a wave of my hand.

"Please, don't worry about it." I smiled at the knight. "Have you seen Gwen recently?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Not for a while."

"You should," I encouraged. "She gets a bit lonely now that Morgana is gone." (Oops, did I forget to mention that Morgana left? Well, she turned evil about six months after Arthur and I got married. Thanks, Mordred! Remind me to send you a sarcastic 'Thank You' card! Grrr!)

I could have sworn I saw a tiny smile on Lance's lips. "I will be sure to do that, My Lady," he answered and walked off in the opposite direction towards Gwen's house. I smiled at my success! This way, Guinevere could be with Arthur and with Lancelot, like in the legend, but no cheating involved! I wondered for a moment if the names in the story got mixed up, seeing as my name is also Guinevere…?

After Gwen's brother, Elyan, came to Camelot, Arthur asked Merlin a key question; "Can you make me a table?" and I literally jumped up and down, clapping my hands with excitement. Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing? Okay, maybe you wouldn't, but I did!

That very day, we set off for the caves outside the city. It really wasn't that bad of a ride. Of course, I asked Sir Leon, Sir Lancelot, Sir Percival, Sir Elyan, and _That's Sir Gwaine to you_, to come along on the journey. They rode behind us, Leon eyeing Merlin curiously as the warlock rode beside Arthur and me. He was the most shocked out of all of the knights about his magic because he had known Merlin the longest of all of them. To be honest, if I hadn't known his name was Merlin, I wouldn't have believed that he had magic, just like everyone in Camelot thought. Poor Leon had been talking to me nonstop about it, which is when I broke and just told him I was from 2011. "That explains so much, My Lady," he had said to me.

At last, we arrived at the caves. Merlin jumped off his horse and we all did the same. He walked up to a huge, fallen boulder. He placed his hand on the side of the stone, muttering under his breath. A light began to emit from his palm, and it appeared to be melting and molding the rock. Before our eyes, it morphed like play dough into a two inch thick, twelve foot long, round stone table.

I bit my lip as the table grew a stand and set itself down on the ground. "Great," Arthur said, folding his arms. "Now, how do we get it back to Camelot?" Merlin's triumphant smile dropped immediately. Gwaine chuckled, coming to stand next to me.

"You need to have more faith in me, Arthur," Merlin shot back.

"Careful, Merlin," Gwaine stepped in. "Don't rile the king!"

"Oh, that's only too easy," I teased, crossing my arms across my chest. Gwaine roared in laughter.

The warlock chuckled. "I can only imagine!"

"Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"Shut up?"

"You got it!"

**A/N: Figured it deserved a Merlin Classic Ending. Hope you enjoyed both stories! Could you review this chapter, too? I know it's the last, but I want to know what you think! Yes, I know I kept the Gwaine/tavern scene just about the same, but I wanted to stay close to the show a bit. And with Merlin creating the Table, I know that they'll probably go back and use the table from The Coming of Arthur Part 2 in the show, but I wanted to do what some legends did and have Merlin create it! =) Oh, and the ( ) in the text is not author's notes, just in case you wondered!**

**Anywho, please review! It would mean the world!**


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